Iran threatens to spread war beyond Middle East if US resumes attacks

On Wednesday, April 20, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) threatened to expand the war beyond the Middle East if the US strikes Iran again.

Reuters writes about this.

"If aggression against Iran is repeated, the promised regional war will this time go beyond the borders of the region," Iranian media quoted the IRGC as saying.

The warning came after the US President Donald Trump said on May 18 that he was "within an hour" of deciding to resume bombing Iran, but postponed it for the sake of diplomacy.

Six weeks after Trump suspended Operation Epic Fury to broker a ceasefire, talks to end the war between the US and Iran have reached an impasse.

Iran this week submitted new proposals to Washington, but they repeat demands that Trump had previously rejected: control of the Strait of Hormuz, compensation for war damages, lifting of sanctions, unfreezing of assets, and the withdrawal of American troops from the region.

Amid the conflict, Iran continues to partially block the Strait of Hormuz, a key route for global oil supplies. This has led to a sharp decline in shipping in the region: just 54 ships passed through the strait last week, down from about 140 a day before the war, according to shipping monitoring agency Lloydʼs List.

At the same time, Iran has begun to ease restrictions on friendly countries. Reuters, citing shipping monitoring data, writes that on Wednesday, May 20, two Chinese supertankers — Yuan Gui Yang and Ocean Lily — passed through the Strait of Hormuz with approximately 4 million barrels of oil.

Another South Korean-flagged tanker, the Universal Winner, carrying 2 million barrels of Kuwaiti oil, is now leaving the strait after more than two months in the Persian Gulf. This brings the total number of tankers leaving the Strait of Hormuz today to 6 million barrels.

Chinese ships are carrying Iraqi and Qatari oil to ports in Guangdong and Fujian provinces, where they will be unloaded, Reuters reported, in a sign that Iran is willing to ease its blockade on countries it considers friendly.

War in the Middle East and negotiations between Iran and the US

On the morning of February 28, the United States and Israel launched attacks on Iran. These attacks killed Iranʼs Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and almost the entire military leadership of the country — about 40 key high-ranking officials.

Iran, in response to the US and Israeli attacks, began shelling Arab countries where US bases are located, and Israel. The war also halted tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, a narrow sea corridor between Iran and Oman that connects the Persian Gulf with the Indian Ocean. It was through it that almost a fifth of the worldʼs oil exports passed — tens of millions of barrels per day.

On April 8, the parties agreed to a two-week ceasefire. On April 13, the United States began a naval blockade of Iranian ports, demanding the complete unblocking of the Strait of Hormuz for all ships.

On April 17, Lebanon and Israel agreed to a ceasefire, after which Iran unblocked the Strait of Hormuz. However, on April 18, Iran reported that it was again blocking the Strait of Hormuz due to the US naval blockade. On the same day, Iran fired on several ships attempting to pass through the strait.

On April 21, Trump tweeted that he had extended the ceasefire with Iran until the Iranians submitted their proposals and concluded discussions. And on May 1, Axios reported, citing a letter from Trump to House Speaker Mike Johnson, that Trump considered the war over.

Despite this, on May 8, Iran accused the US of violating the ceasefire by attacking two ships in the Strait of Hormuz and striking civilian areas. But there is no talk of a breakdown yet.

For more news and in-depth stories from Ukraine, please follow us on X.