Tehran: In a moment reminiscent of the Bollywood blockbuster Sholay, Iran has cautioned the United States that it would inflict four times more damage
on oil facilities in Gulf countries if its own infrastructure is targeted. Echoing the film’s famous dialogue, “tum agar ek maroge, to hum chaar marenge” (if you strike once, we will strike four times), Iran’s Vice President Esmail Saghab Esfahani on Sunday signalled a policy of disproportionate retaliation. Esfahani warned that any damage to Iran’s oil assets due to US aggression would be met with a fourfold response against oil infrastructure in the Gulf countries supporting Washington. “If any part of our infrastructure, including oil wells, is damaged as a result of a blockade, we guarantee that four times that damage will be inflicted on the same infrastructure in countries that support the aggressor,” Esfahani wrote in his X post on Sunday.
“Our math is different; one oil well equals four oil wells,” he added. Efsahani’s statement came after Trump said that Iran's oil-clogged-up pipelines are under the risk of explosion as the West Asian country has a shortage of storage space, reported The Wall Street Journal.
US-Iran Peace Talks Derailed:
Notably, the diplomatic efforts to end the Iran war were disrupted after Tehran did not participate in the second round of peace talks scheduled in Pakistan’s Islamabad over the weekend. In an interview with Fox News, the US President said that Tehran could contact Washington if it wanted to have negotiations. "If they want to talk, they can come to us, or they can call us. You know, there is a telephone. We have nice, secure lines," he said. However, he also asserted that the United States's position will not change. He reiterated that Iran could not have a nuclear weapon.
Iran’s New Proposal:
Meanwhile, Iran has reportedly given the United States a new proposal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, bringing an end to the conflict. The new deal proposes to postpone the nuclear negotiations for later stages, reported Axios, citing sources. The Strait of Hormuz, which connects the Persian Gulf to the Gulf of Oman, accounts for around 20 per cent of the world's oil and liquefied natural gas (LNG) trade.
The new proposal has reportedly been sent to the US via Pakistan. It focuses on solving the Strait crisis first and suggests that the ceasefire, which Trump has extended indefinitely, should be extended for a longer period and the parties should agree on a permanent end to the war.
