Calls grow for reopening of key waterway

Qatar said on Monday that opening the Strait of Hormuz remains a "priority" and warned the world faces an "industrial catastrophe" if the regional crisis continues, as Iran threatened a maritime "exclusion zone" amid the United States' economic warfare and blockade.

In an interview with CNN, Qatar's Foreign Ministry spokesman Majed Mohammed Al-Ansari said there are currently "two main priorities".

"One, make sure that the Strait (of Hormuz) is open ... second is to make sure there are no escalations in the region and no attacks on Iran," he said.

"When we get to that point, this is the point we need to have the regional push, all of us collectively, to make sure that dialogue happens that includes all of us," he said.

The two main obstacles now relate to political will and finding technical solutions, he added.

"The world cannot afford normalizing the idea of ... a waterway being used and weaponized in this way," he said. "This could be replicated in other places, having even more damaging consequences. We need to kill this in its infancy."

Mohsen Rezaei, secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, said on Tuesday that the US has in recent days "received a clear warning from Iran's new missiles".

"Economic warfare will be met by a maritime exclusion zone across the Persian Gulf to the blockade perimeter. The operational posture toward US warships and bases has been fundamentally recalibrated," he said.

A US State Department spokesperson said Washington is coordinating with its regional partners to ensure that Iran's "disruption of navigation" does not become an accepted state of affairs, Al Jazeera reported.

Meanwhile, US Senator Mark Warner condemned the administration's war against Iran.

"The Iran war of choice that (President) Donald Trump started cost Americans $100 billion, and every two minutes, it goes up by another $1 million," he said on Monday.

"This is what happens when you start a war of choice with no plan, no strategy, no allies, and no way to get out," he added, urging Americans to "stand up, speak up, fight back".

At the 166th session of the Council of the League of Arab States on Monday, Arab League Secretary-General Nabil Fahmy reiterated that Arab states were not parties to the war and had not chosen to become a theater for it.

Fahmy warned of the repercussions of disrupting the Strait of Hormuz and Bab al-Mandab Strait, saying any vulnerability or disruption affecting the two waterways would have direct consequences for Arab economies and security, as well as repercussions for the global economy.

Also on Monday, International Atomic Energy Agency Director-General Rafael Grossi called on Iran to "engage with the agency constructively" to make possible the full and effective implementation of agency safeguards in Iran and to fulfill its responsibilities under the safeguards agreements of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons.

"A return to diplomacy and negotiations aimed at finding a solution to issues related to Iran's nuclear program is imperative, and the agency stands ready to support such efforts," Grossi said.

Iran's mission to the agency responded to Grossi, saying the IAEA chief should first call on the US and Israel to stop attacking or threatening to attack peaceful nuclear facilities operating under IAEA safeguards.

Houthi, Saudi attacks

Meanwhile in Yemen, the Houthi group on Tuesday claimed responsibility for large-scale missile and drone strikes on military and energy facilities across southern Saudi Arabia, saying the attacks were in response to recent Saudi military operations in Yemen.

Saudi authorities said earlier on Tuesday that the Houthi attacks hit civilian and economic sites, injuring 73 people. Fires broke out at several energy facilities and utilities, forcing a temporary suspension of operations, according to the Saudi energy ministry.

The Houthi-run al-Masirah TV reported a series of Saudi strikes on Tuesday. "The Saudi aggression launches a series of raids on Al-Waziyah district" in Taiz Province, where fighting has raged for days, al-Masirah said.

Xinhua contributed to this story.

Contact the writers at jan@chinadailyapac.com