Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi declared on Sunday that any renewed military campaign by the United States and Israel would fail to alter Tehran’s strategic posture, insisting that regional shipping routes through the Strait of Hormuz will no longer be the same.
Speaking in Tehran during a televised event, Araghchi brushed aside mounting threats from Washington, where President Donald Trump suggested on Friday that the U.S. might launch another operation modeled after the joint U.S.-Israeli campaign dubbed “Epic Fury,” which initially commenced on February 28. Araghchi countered that they have already done so twice and have seen the results, and that if they want to try again, they know they will achieve no different outcome from those of the past, according to reporting by ABC News.
Shifting Realities in the Strait of Hormuz
While an April 8 ceasefire halted the most intense phases of the eight-month war, sporadic skirmishes have persisted around the Strait of Hormuz, a critical maritime corridor that previously carried roughly a fifth of global trade in oil and liquefied natural gas. Since the conflict began, Iran has claimed control over the strait, regularly targeting unauthorized vessels while the U.S. maintains a parallel naval counter-blockade on Iranian ports.
Araghchi emphasized that the architecture of the waterway has undergone a transformation. The current war has changed everything,
Araghchi stated, adding that shipping lanes and the governance of the transit artery must operate under new realities, with Tehran continuing to push for the complete absence of foreign forces from the region.
Iran remains open to talks with the U.S. under a Pakistan-brokered interim deal reached in June to end the conflict, Tehran’s ambassador to Islamabad said Saturday, accusing Washington of undermining diplomacy and prolonging the standoff over the Strait of Hormuz.Ambassador…
Diplomatic efforts to fully reopen the vital trade route remain stalled. In mid-September, Tehran presented a seven-day proposal aimed at restoring maritime access, which hinges on the lifting of U.S. port blockades and oil sanctions alongside an end to hostilities on all fronts. Although Washington transmitted feedback on the framework, security officials in Iran noted that negotiations stalled because the U.S. side insisted on incorporating demands regarding Iran’s nuclear enrichment program from the outset. U.S. Vice President JD Vance argued earlier in the month that any permanent resolution requires a meaningful reduction in Iranian uranium enrichment capacity.
Regional Spillovers and Aerial Interceptions Over Riyadh
Meanwhile, domestic events in Tehran highlighted the human cost of the ongoing confrontation. Araghchi’s Sunday remarks were delivered during a specialized meeting honoring Kamal Kharrazi, a veteran diplomat who served as foreign minister from 1997 to 2005. Kharrazi was critically injured, and his wife killed, when an Israeli strike hit his Tehran residence on April 1, 2026. He succumbed to his injuries on April 9, an event that Tehran condemned as an act of state terrorism violating international law.
