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IRGC warns renewed war could extend beyond Middle East<\/p>\n
Iran\u2019s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has threatened to extend a renewed war beyond the Middle East if the US resumes attacks against Tehran.<\/p>\n
The warning came after Donald Trump threatened to strike Iran again<\/a> if it did not accept a deal to end the conflict.<\/p>\n In a statement carried by the semi-official Tasnim news agency in Iran, the IRGC said: \u201cShould aggression against Iran be repeated, the regional war that was promised will this time extend beyond the region, and our crushing blows in places you can scarcely imagine will reduce you to ashes.\u201d<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n A South Korean oil tanker is passing through the strait of Hormuz, marking the first such case involving a Korea-managed ship since the Iran<\/a> war began.<\/p>\n \u201cConsultations with Iranian authorities were completed, and the vessel began sailing yesterday. It is passing through the strait very cautiously,\u201d South Korea\u2019s foreign minister, Cho Hyun, said, according to the Seoul-based Yonhap news agency.<\/p>\n He added that the vessel was carrying 2m barrels of crude oil.<\/p>\n Yonhap reported that the tanker began sailing in waters near Qatar yesterday after receiving passage approval from Iran a day earlier. Citing officials, the news agency said no transit fees were paid to Iran for the safe transit of the vessel.<\/p>\n The passage came nearly two weeks after the South Korean-operated HMM Namu was struck by \u201ctwo unidentified aircraft\u201d in the strait, causing a fire and leaving one of the vessel\u2019s 24 crew members with minor injuries.<\/p>\n The Panama-flagged cargo vessel, operated by South Korean shipping firm HMM Co, arrived in Dubai after the incident for investigation.<\/p>\n Iran has denied responsibility, with its embassy in Seoul saying it \u201cfirmly rejects and categorically denies any allegations regarding the involvement\u201d of its forces. Seoul strongly condemned the attack and said it hoped to identify those behind it through an investigation.<\/p>\n Share<\/a>Opening summary: US and Iran trade threats<\/p>\n Welcome to our live coverage of events in the Middle East.<\/p>\n Donald Trump warned the US may strike Iran again<\/a> \u2013 a day after he said he had held off a major assault in hopes of a peace deal \u2013 but Tehran\u2019s army threatened to open \u201cnew fronts\u201d if he went ahead.<\/p>\n Trump told reporters at the White House that he had been just \u201can hour away\u201d from relaunching Washington\u2019s attacks on Iran<\/a> before postponing the order, after weeks of a fragile ceasefire and talks to end the war, which began on 28 February.<\/p>\n The decision apparently followed a further peace proposal submitted by Tehran via Pakistan<\/a>, which has mediated, and may have been motivated by the reluctance of allies, including Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, to see hostilities resume.<\/p>\n A woman walks near a billboard with an image of the late Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, in Tehran, Iran. Photograph: Majid Asgaripour\/Reuters<\/p>\n \u201cYou know how it is to negotiate with a country where you\u2019re beating them badly. They come to the table, they\u2019re begging to make a deal,\u201d Trump said. \u201cI hope we don\u2019t have to do the war, but we may have to give them another big hit. I\u2019m not sure yet.\u201d<\/p>\n Oil prices eased on the apparent positive signals from the White House, with Brent crude falling to $110 a barrel, before regaining much of its losses.<\/p>\n In response to Trump, Iran\u2019s army spokesperson Mohammad Akraminia warned the Islamic republic would \u201copen new fronts against\u201d the US if it resumed its attacks.<\/p>\n He added that Iran\u2019s military had used the ceasefire as an opportunity \u201cto strengthen its combat capabilities\u201d.<\/p>\n Here are the other main developments:<\/p>\n The US Senate has advanced a war-powers resolution<\/a> that would end the Iran war unless Trump obtains Congress\u2019 authorisation. The vote on a procedural measure to advance the resolution was 50 to 47, as four of Trump\u2019s fellow Republicans voted with every Democrat but one in favour. Three Republicans missed the vote.<\/p>\n The Israeli military launched a series of strikes across Lebanon, killing 19 people<\/a>, according to the Lebanese health ministry. One strike, in the town of Deir Qanun al-Nahr in the Tyre district, killed 10 people including three children and three women, the ministry said.<\/p>\n The Israeli army in turn said that it intercepted a drone fired from Lebanon. Israel and Lebanon\u2019s central government have twice extended a US-brokered ceasefire, but Israel says it does not apply to its attacks on Hezbollah.<\/p>\n