U.S. and Iran exchange threats - Tuesday, 10 March
Tensions in the region remained high on Tuesday (10 March), as the United States and Iran exchanged increasingly sharp warnings, including thr...
Iran has warned against a planned transport corridor proposed under a peace deal between Azerbaijan and Armenia, brokered with backing from U.S. President Donald Trump, saying it could threaten regional stability.
Ali Akbar Velayati, an aide to Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said the plan, part of a US-brokered peace deal signed in Washington on 8 August, would undermine Armenia’s territorial integrity, fragment its borders, and cut Iran out of regional trade routes. He warned that “whether with Russia or without Russia, we will move to protect the security of the South Caucasus.”
The agreement, signed by Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev alongside US President Donald Trump, grants Washington exclusive development rights to a strategic land link between mainland Azerbaijan and its Nakhchivan exclave via southern Armenia. Dubbed the “Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity” by the White House, it is promoted as a boost for energy exports and regional trade.
Velayati dismissed the idea as “impossible” and “political treachery,” telling Tasnim News that “this passage will not become a gateway for Trump’s mercenaries, it will become their graveyard.” He recalled that Iran had staged military drills along its northwestern border in the past to signal opposition to the so-called Zangezur corridor, previously advanced by Turkey and Azerbaijan.
While Iran’s foreign ministry described the peace deal as an “important step” toward stability, it warned that projects near its borders must respect national sovereignty, territorial integrity, and mutual interests and be free of foreign interference.
Tensions in the region remained high on Tuesday (10 March), as the United States and Iran exchanged increasingly sharp warnings, including threats over the strategic Strait of Hormuz, a critical artery for global oil supplies.
Global oil prices surpassed $119 a barrel on Monday (9 March, 2026), an almost four year high, as the Middle East conflict rumbled on.
China has urged Afghanistan and Pakistan to resolve their dispute through dialogue after Chinese envoy Yue Xiaoyong met Afghan Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi, as fighting between the two neighbours entered its eleventh day.
Entry and exit across the state border between Azerbaijan and Iran for all types of cargo vehicles, including those in transit, will resume on 9 March, according to a statement by the Cabinet of Ministers of Azerbaijan.
Iran named Mojtaba Khamenei to succeed his father Ali Khamenei as supreme leader on Monday (9 March), signaling that hardliners remain firmly in charge, as the week-old U.S.-Israeli war with Iran pushed oil above $100 a barrel.
Iran and the U.S. exchanged threats on Tuesday, as U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth warned Tehran to expect the “most intense day" of attacks so far. Meanwhile, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said “anyone who entertains the illusion of destroying Iran knows nothing of history."
The Strait of Hormuz has become a focal point of global concern as tensions rise following the conflict involving Iran, the United States and Israel. Tehran has threatened to block the strategic waterway, raising fears of disruption to global oil shipments and energy markets.
Reports of so-called “acid clouds” moving from Iran towards Central Asia are not supported by scientific data, national hydrometeorological services in Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan say, adding there is no threat to the region.
A senior delegation from the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly has been holding meetings with Georgian government officials, opposition leaders and security authorities this week, as international observers attempt to gauge the country’s political climate following last year’s contentious elections.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has told Masoud Pezeshkian, his Iranian counterpart, that violations of Turkish airspace by Iran could not be justified “for any reason whatsoever.”
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