Both sides in the Gulf dispute insist on their own opinions, Trump threatens Iran with “1,000 missiles”
TOI reporter in Washington: U.S. President Donald Trump has raised the temperature of the confrontation sharply by threatening to launch “1,000 missiles” at Iran and “totally destroy” the country if Tehran attempts to assassinate him. Within days, the confrontation turned from an initial understanding to new military exchanges and mutual accusations of betrayal.“1,000 missiles locked and loaded, targeting the Islamic Republic of Iran, and thousands more will be launched immediately if the Iranian government acts on its threat to… assassinate… me!” Trump wrote on social media. “The order has been issued and the U.S. military is ready, willing and able…to completely destroy and destroy all areas of Iran.”The extraordinary warning comes as Washington and Tehran appear to be back to square one, engaging in fiery rhetoric and even more fiery missile attacks despite a recent memorandum of understanding (MoU) aimed at halting hostilities and safeguarding maritime traffic in the Strait of Hormuz (SoH).Trump’s assassination charges appeal to long-standing U.S. beliefs that Iran seeks revenge for the 2020 U.S. killing of Iranian Revolutionary Guard commander Qasem Soleimani. U.S. prosecutors and intelligence officials have previously alleged that Iran-linked actors were hatching plots to target former U.S. officials linked to the operation.However, the immediate credibility of Iran’s active plot against the current U.S. president remains difficult to publicly assess. Analysts note that while Tehran has repeatedly vowed retaliation, an actual assassination attempt against Trump would almost certainly lead to overwhelming retaliation from the United States and could jeopardize the survival of the Islamic Republic itself.But that hasn’t stopped Iran from hardening its rhetoric. After the death of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was reported, the Iranian leadership issued a statement saying: “Avenging the Iranian martyrs is a demand of our country and will certainly be implemented. The entire chain of command of these criminals – from top to bottom – is known to them and they will make a wish from their graves to die peacefully in their beds.“Meanwhile, the differences between the two sides appear to stem from radically different interpretations of paragraph 5 of the MoU. According to reports, Iran believes that the agreement gives it the authority to manage the SoH shipping corridor for 60 days. However, the Trump administration has quietly supported an alternative route along the Omani coast that would bypass Iranian surveillance.Tehran reportedly fired warning shots at a ship using the new corridor. Washington interpreted the incident as an interference with freedom of navigation and used it to justify renewed military strikes against Iranian targets.The dispute highlights a deeper divide that has dogged U.S.-Iran diplomacy for decades: Iran seeks recognition of its regional security role, while Washington remains unwilling to relinquish strategic control of one of the world’s most important maritime chokepoints.According to US media such as Axios, the Trump administration now wants Tehran to publicly declare that all passages through the strait are open and that oil tankers will no longer be targeted. Iran’s response so far has been promises of revenge rather than reassurance, leaving another U.S.-Iran understanding in danger of collapsing under the weight of ambiguity, distrust and competing interpretations.“If the United States continues to violate its obligations under the Islamabad Understanding, Iran will no longer consider itself bound by its commitments under the Understanding,” Tehran’s ambassador to the United Nations said in a speech in New York on Friday, referring to the deal reached with the help of mediation from Pakistan and Qatar, according to a statement issued by Iranian state broadcaster IRIB.
