Leader’s adviser warns US against escalation, says resistance can shut down two strategic waterways

“The choice is yours: stop the foolishness or enter into a regulated balance involving two straits,” Velayati said early Monday in an X post in reference to the Bab el-Mandeb Strait and the Strait of Hormuz.

“The prediction made a few days ago has now materialized; a missile response in the spirit of ‘Dhat al-Salasil.’ The regime’s foolishness in Beirut today and its blatant violation of the ceasefire activated the first link in our chain response,” he wrote.

The senior adviser further warned against miscalculations regarding regional maritime security, saying, “The current security of the Bab el-Mandeb Strait should not lead the enemy into miscalculation. The resistance forces are capable of locking down both waterways. The choice is yours: stop the foolishness or enter into a regulated balance involving the two straits.”

Iran has maintained control of the Strait of Hormuz since early March as part of its self-defense measures after the US and Israel launched attacks against the country on February 28.

Tehran says the adversaries target Iran’s security through the Strait of Hormuz, and that ships passing through the waterway should observe new regulations set by Iran and Oman. The two countries, as coastal states of Hormuz, are currently in talks over formulating those new regulations.

The United States rejects placing any regulations and threatened both Iran and Oman with military action. The situation in the Strait of Hormuz is a sticking point in talks between Tehran and Washington to permanently end the war. The two sides agreed to a temporary ceasefire on April 8, which Iran insisted should include cessation of hostilities on all fronts, including in Lebanon. The Israeli regime however repeatedly violated the ceasefire by attacking Lebanon, including the southern districts of its capital. Beirut.