Iranian commander warns U.S. and Israel against escalation as talks on Strait of Hormuz continue

Ali Abdollahi, commander of Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters, warned the U.S. and Israel on Thursday to avoid miscalculation, stating that Iran’s armed forces would retaliate harshly to any threat or aggression. The statement was broadcast by Iranian state media.

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who led Iran for 37 years, was killed in U.S. and Israeli airstrikes on February 28 at the outset of the war. He is scheduled to be buried July 9 following days of ceremonies expected to draw massive crowds of Shiite Muslims from Iran, Iraq, Lebanon and Pakistan.

Iranian officials have been negotiating with U.S. officials over opening the Strait of Hormuz and ending hostilities. The talks, recently hosted in Doha, focused on the waterway through which around 20 percent of the world’s oil and gas flow.

The U.S. was represented by special envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner. ” He warned that the U.S. would resume strikes if Iran continued attacking commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz or advancing its nuclear program.

“The President’s not going to send our military back in unless he has to,” Vance told reporters.