A ballistic missile is displayed by Iran's Revolutionary Guard during a pro-government demonstration at Enqelab-e-Eslami (Islamic Revolution) Square in downtown Tehran, Iran, Tuesday. ISNA via AP-Yonhap

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Iran fired on three ships in the Strait of Hormuz and seized two of them on Wednesday, intensifying its assault on shipping in the key waterway. The attacks came a day after U.S. President Donald Trump extended a ceasefire while maintaining an American blockade of Iranian ports.

The standoff between the U.S. and Iran has effectively choked off nearly all exports through the strait, through which 20 percent of the world’s traded oil passes in peacetime, with no end in sight. Iranian media said the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard was bringing the two ships to Iran, marking a further escalation.

The conflict has already sent gas prices skyrocketing far beyond the region and raised the cost of food and a wide array of other products. The longer the strait remains closed, the more severe and widespread the effects will be — and the longer it will take the economy to bounce back.

The price of Brent crude oil, the international standard, nosed over $100 per barrel, marking a 35 percent increase from prewar levels, but stock markets still appear to be shrugging it off.

The European Union energy commissioner, Dan Jørgensen, warned of lasting impact for consumers and businesses, likening the crisis to other major energy crunches over the last half-century. He said the disruption is costing Europe around 500 million euros ($600 million) each day.

Iran holds firm in apparent tit-for-tat with US

Iran’s leaders appear poised to drive a hard bargain with American negotiators after Trump said the U.S. would indefinitely extend the ceasefire that had been due to expire Wednesday, while Washington awaits a new proposal from Tehran.

Iranian media said the MSC Francesca and the Epaminodes were being escorted to Iran. The ships’ owners could not be immediately reached for comment. The U.S. had earlier seized two Iranian vessels as the ceasefire talks were due to take place in Pakistan.

The Guard attacked a third ship, identified as the Euphoria, which had become “stranded” on the Iranian coast, Iranian media reported, without elaborating.

Source: Korea Times News