America's top diplomat says the economic pressure on Iran is working so well that the bombing can wait. Tehran's reply: the Strait of Hormuz stays shut. I'm Sarah, Rich is with me, and this is Iran War Daily for Wednesday, November 11. Today: Rubio and Rezaei talk past each other, tankers keep catching fire while oil climbs off its lows, and the Treasury secretary reportedly moves onto a military base. One tap on follow, and we'll be back in your ears before you know it.
Al Jazeera staff, with Reuters:
He said the Strait of Hormuz – the global maritime corridor that Iran closed – will not reopen until the US meets Tehran’s seven conditions. “Their initial response was insufficient and deceptive, and we are still waiting for an explicit and clear response,” he said.
That's Mohsen Rezaei, secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, on Lebanon's Al Mayadeen TV on Tuesday. Yesterday we heard him deny any talks. This time he called claims of ongoing negotiations or a meeting in Qatar "a pure lie", and said Washington is talking up diplomacy to ease economic pressure and bring down oil prices. Listen to the word "initial", though. You don't call a response insufficient unless something arrived. No talks, but apparently paper moving back and forth. That's a reading of his wording; he didn't describe any exchange. In Paris, after G7 foreign ministers met on Tuesday, Marco Rubio said Washington was "open to diplomacy" and that more strikes aren't needed "if we're achieving the same objectives through economic means." And then the line that matters: "The economic campaign is so devastating that right now there is no need for major combat operations." So the blockade is the war now. Abbas Araghchi told IRNA the conflict "will not be resolved through military means, nor by intensifying sanctions," and said the two-day proposal remains on the table. Qatar's prime minister went from the White House to Paris to meet the Saudi foreign minister and four top European diplomats. A Qatari foreign ministry official, Ibrahim al-Hashmi, said the mediator is working to bridge the gaps: "We remain hopeful."
Jeslyn Lerh, reporting for Reuters from Singapore:
"Even in the event a deal is struck, an increase in flows through the waterway would still depend on mine clearance, insurance costs and whether or not shipowners would even be willing to take the risk," LSEG Oil Research said in a November 10 note.
Brent was up about half a percent on Wednesday morning, near ninety-two dollars, after hitting two-month lows on Tuesday. It first dropped more than three dollars when US officials played down new strikes, then won some of that back after Rezaei said there were no talks. Mines, insurers and nerve. That's how long a reopening really takes, whatever the two-day plan says. And the attacks aren't easing. The Washington Institute counted thirty-seven ships attacked in October, the most in any month of the war. Tuesday's incidents, source by source. UKMTO, the British maritime agency, said a tanker was struck by an unknown projectile northeast of Lima in Oman. The Revolutionary Guard navy claimed tankers caught fire after hitting mines on what it calls an unauthorised route; Reuters reports two, Al Jazeera three, none independently verified. ADNOC, the Emirati state oil company, said one of its vessels was damaged in an attack in UAE waters, AFP reports. And Iran's army claimed another tanker hit a mine and caught fire on Wednesday. Then the people. The International Maritime Organization has confirmed a hundred and thirty incidents since late February, with at least twenty-five seafarers killed. Reuters verified video of oil reaching the shore in Oman. That video was shared on Monday, and Oman's government didn't respond to Reuters.
The New Arab, citing The New York Times:
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has relocated from his home in the Washington area to a military base following an Iranian threat against his life, the New York Times reported on Tuesday.
The Times cites three sources who say Iranian plotting against US officials has reached a "more advanced stage". How serious the threat to Bessent is remains unclear. Last month, national intelligence chief Jay Clayton warned that Tehran had "substantially increased" efforts to target Americans. Bessent is the man who promised Iran "economic asphyxiation". So the same day Rubio says the economic campaign makes bombs unnecessary, the campaign's architect is reportedly living on a base. The squeeze has a return address. It follows the thread we picked up yesterday: US refuelling tankers leaving RAF Mildenhall in England over a reported Iranian threat, after B-1 bombers left RAF Fairford in September. And Tehran chose Tuesday for a show of force. Tasnim, the agency linked to the Revolutionary Guard, published images of what it called a new underground "missile city", with ballistic and cruise missiles and launchers, and armed forces chief Ali Abdollahi on the tour. Gulf News points out that Tasnim gave no location, no weapon counts and no independent evidence of the site's scale. The Guard's aerospace commander, Majid Mousavi, warned Iran could strike enemy assets across and beyond the region.
A question for you: which front should we spend more time on, the shipping lanes, the threats against US officials, or the mediation? Send us a line at iranwardaily at lantern podcasts dot com. We read every note.
Strikes on hold, tankers still burning, and a cabinet secretary on a base. Some de-escalation. Tomorrow, Thursday, we'll be watching for the "explicit and clear response" Rezaei says he's waiting on, and whether anyone admits to sending it. Iran War Daily is one of the shows from Lantern Podcasts. Thanks for spending part of your Wednesday with us.