Two commercial vessels were hit within 24 hours — one off Qatar, the first attack in that area in six months, and one off Fujairah in the Gulf of Oman — as IRGC-affiliated outlets suggested Tehran had extended operations beyond the crucial strait.
Iran's army spokesman said Tehran's forces were prepared to strike first "should circumstances require it," while IRGC officials claimed tighter control of Hormuz, and Washington publicly pondered how much authority Pezeshkian and Araghchi actually wielded.
Parliament speaker Ghalibaf said if Iran cannot sell oil, "no one in the region will sell oil," as the IRGC called Trump "a big liar," said US bases were the "only source of insecurity" in the region and warned new weapons were being prepared for the battlefield.
The IRGC warned it has prepared for a "long-term war" with unused strategic weapons, while Trump told Fox News he was weighing options "if and when do I blow the entire nation up."