Iran says forces stronger as missiles hit Qeshm Island
Army spokesman Mohammad Akraminia says the Strait of Hormuz stays shut until Washington meets Tehran's demands, as the US offers $20m for nuclear information.
Iran's army said on Saturday its forces are stronger than at the start of its war with the United States, and that shipping through the Strait of Hormuz will remain restricted until Washington meets Tehran's demands.
Army spokesman Mohammad Akraminia said Iran's armed forces had gained experience from direct confrontation with the United States and Israel and were on higher alert than at the beginning of the war, state news agency IRNA reported. They now had "greater motivation, commitment, and self-confidence", he said, and under the Supreme Leader's order their response would be "immediate, effective, and without geographical limitations".
Iran has sought to limit traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, which normally carries about one-fifth of global oil consumption. Akraminia said Tehran retained control of the waterway.
The war began in late February when the United States and Israel attacked Iran. Mediators have been working to prevent a resumption of fighting after months of deadlock, according to Dawn.
On Friday the US military said it was offering a $20 million reward, and possible relocation, for information about Iran's nuclear programme. Rewards for Justice, a State Department programme set up in 1984, is seeking information on "facilities, equipment, and associated personnel, such as those in the scientific community", US Central Command said on X. The State Department said Iran's lack of compliance with the International Atomic Energy Agency on safeguards obligations had led the agency to lose "continuity of knowledge" about Iran's production and stock of components such as centrifuges. It did not specify what information would warrant the payment.
President Donald Trump, speaking in West Palm Beach, Florida, on Friday night, said US forces had effectively obliterated Iran's nuclear programme. "If we didn't hit Iran, you wouldn't have Israel today," he said. Trump said Iran, whose economy and military he said had been severely damaged over eight months of war, was eager to end the conflict: "They want to make a deal very badly." He said he had called Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani on Friday to discuss efforts to end the war. Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian said this week his government was still trying to resolve the crisis through dialogue.
Early on Saturday, Tasnim reported that two missiles had struck Qeshm Island in the Strait of Hormuz and that there was no official information about damage. Iranian state television reported two explosions on the island. The army said its air defences had "struck and destroyed" a US drone flying over Qeshm, without saying whether the island was attacked.
Kpler projects that the conflict will cut global demand for refined petroleum products by 2.4 million barrels a day by the end of 2026, Punch reported.
How the reports differ
Bangkok Post carried the fullest account, adding the overnight reports from Qeshm Island, the army's claim to have downed a US drone, Trump's remarks in Florida and the State Department's reasoning behind the reward. Dawn's opening paragraph put the mediators' efforts to stop a return to fighting in its second sentence. Punch did not report the army statement, leading instead with Kpler's estimate that the war will cut global refined products demand by 2.4 million barrels a day by the end of 2026. Al-Monitor and the Winnipeg Sun ran the Iranian army statement under the same headline as Dawn, with no further reporting visible in what they published.
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