Welcome back to World Brief, where we\u2019re looking at Iran\u2019s warning for the Strait of Hormuz, U.S. accusations of European market overcapacity, and a new \u201cethnic unity\u201d law in China.<\/p>\n
Khamenei\u2019s First Warning<\/p>\n
Iranian Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei delivered a defiant message<\/a> on Thursday in his first public statement since succeeding his father, who was killed<\/a> during U.S.-Israeli strikes on Feb. 28. \u201cIran will not refrain from avenging the blood of its martyrs,\u201d Khamenei said, adding that Tehran will seek compensation from its adversaries \u201cor destroy their assets accordingly.\u201d<\/p>\n Welcome back to World Brief, where we\u2019re looking at Iran\u2019s warning for the Strait of Hormuz, U.S. accusations of European market overcapacity, and a new \u201cethnic unity\u201d law in China.<\/p>\n Sign up<\/a> to receive World Brief in your inbox every weekday.<\/p>\n Sign up to receive World Brief in your inbox every weekday.<\/p>\n \n Sign Up\n <\/p>\n By submitting your email, you agree to the Privacy Policy<\/a> and Terms of Use<\/a> and to receive email correspondence from us. You may opt out at any time.<\/p>\n \n Enter your email<\/p>\n Sign Up Khamenei\u2019s First Warning<\/p>\n Iranian Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei delivered a defiant message<\/a> on Thursday in his first public statement since succeeding his father, who was killed<\/a> during U.S.-Israeli strikes on Feb. 28. \u201cIran will not refrain from avenging the blood of its martyrs,\u201d Khamenei said, adding that Tehran will seek compensation from its adversaries \u201cor destroy their assets accordingly.\u201d<\/p>\n Khamenei vowed to continue blocking the Strait of Hormuz as a \u201ctool to pressure the enemy.\u201d Passage through the strategic waterway, where normally one-fifth of the world\u2019s oil transits, has ground to a virtual standstill as Iranian forces target commercial shipping vessels.<\/p>\n Tehran also warned all U.S. bases in the Middle East on Thursday to close immediately, saying \u201cthose bases will be attacked.\u201d<\/p>\n Iranian forces have escalated their strikes on oil and civilian infrastructure in recent days. On Thursday, a suspected Iranian attack targeted<\/a> two tankers in an Iraqi port, just hours after three commercial ships were struck in the Persian Gulf. Iran\u2019s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps claimed responsibility for at least one of Wednesday\u2019s attacks: an assault on the Mayuree Naree, a Thai-flagged bulk carrier. Bangkok denounced<\/a> that strike on Thursday and demanded that Tehran issue an apology.<\/p>\n Also on Thursday, Qatar\u2019s Defense Ministry said it had thwarted<\/a> several missile and drone attacks targeting its country. And Saudi Arabia\u2019s Defense Ministry said it had intercepted<\/a> two drones heading toward its Shaybah oil field.<\/p>\n These attacks have not stopped the United States and Israel from continuing their own military operations. According to U.S. Central Command, U.S. forces have struck<\/a> around 6,000 Iranian targets, including more than 60 ships and 30 minelayers, since the war began. And on Thursday, Israel unleashed a fresh onslaught of attacks on alleged Hezbollah sites in Beirut, prompting the British government to issue a new travel advisory<\/a> for its citizens in Lebanon. \u201cIf your presence in Lebanon is not essential, you should consider departing now,\u201d the alert states. \u201cIf you decide to stay, we cannot guarantee we will be able to help you.\u201d<\/p>\n Iranian strikes have injected uncertainty into global energy supply flows. On Wednesday, members of the International Energy Agency (IEA) unanimously agreed<\/a> to release 400 million barrels of oil from their strategic reserves to help bring down rising crude costs<\/a>. That same day, an Iranian military official warned<\/a> that the price of oil per barrel could reach $200.<\/p>\n But Western powers appear less concerned<\/a> about oil markets following the IEA\u2019s decision. On Thursday, the European Commission said it does not have any immediate concerns<\/a> regarding the security of oil supplies. And U.S. President Donald Trump said<\/a> preventing Tehran from acquiring a nuclear weapon was more important to him than the price of crude. Trump also said the United States would profit from high oil prices. \u201cThe United States is the largest Oil Producer in the World, by far, so when oil prices go up, we make a lot of money,\u201d he wrote<\/a> on Truth Social.<\/p>\n But rising oil prices aren\u2019t the only financial concern. Pentagon officials told U.S. lawmakers on Tuesday that the war\u2019s estimated cost exceeded $11.3 billion<\/a> within its first six days\u2014not including other operational costs, such as hardware and personnel buildups.<\/p>\n Today\u2019s Most Read<\/p>\n What We\u2019re Following<\/p>\n The threat of more tariffs. The European Union on Thursday rejected<\/a> U.S. allegations that the bloc was responsible for global market overcapacity, vowing to respond \u201cfirmly and proportionately\u201d to any breach in the EU-U.S. trade deal<\/a>, which was reached last year. \u201cThe sources of such overcapacity are well identified, and they do not lie in Europe,\u201d European Commission spokesperson Olof Gill said.<\/p>\n Last month, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled<\/a> that Trump had overstepped his executive authority when he used the 1977 International Emergency Economic Powers Act to impose sweeping tariffs on virtually all of Washington\u2019s trading partners. Trump immediately condemned<\/a> the 6-3 decision and vowed to circumvent the ruling with the 1974 Trade Act.<\/p>\n On Wednesday, the White House used Section 301 of that act to accuse more than a dozen major economies, including the EU, of unfairly overproducing goods. Opening an investigation<\/a> into foreign manufacturing practices marks an effort by Trump to replace the hundreds of billions of dollars in revenue that the United States lost following the Supreme Court\u2019s ruling.<\/p>\n Gill on Thursday said the EU had not received<\/a> any indication that Washington planned to deviate from its previous trade deal commitments, which stipulates that U.S. tariffs on European goods cannot surpass 15 percent. But with the agreement not formally ratified yet, EU lawmakers are worried that the new investigation will complicate the deal\u2019s approval process.<\/p>\n \u201cForced assimilation.\u201d China\u2019s National People\u2019s Congress approved<\/a> an expansive new law on Thursday that makes \u201cethnic unity\u201d the responsibility of all levels of society. Beijing maintains that the legislation will protect China\u2019s 56 recognized ethnic groups. However, experts warn that the law\u2019s primary focus is to forge a single national identity\u2014shaped by the Han majority\u2014to enable sweeping assimilation and prevent foreign influence.<\/p>\n Under the new law<\/a>, all citizens must abandon \u201coutdated customs\u201d and embrace \u201ccorrect views\u201d on history, religion, and culture. Parents will be required to \u201ceducate and guide children to love the Chinese Communist Party,\u201d and minority residents will be forced to live in mixed communities. This is a \u201cblatant move by Beijing to legalise forced assimilation and political control,\u201d said Yalkun Uluyol<\/a>, a China researcher at Human Rights Watch.<\/p>\n Notably, the law mandates that Mandarin Chinese be the language used in schools and official communications, which rights activists warn could dilute<\/a> minority cultures and languages, such as Mongolian, Tibetan, and Uyghur.<\/p>\n Storm Shadow missiles. Russia\u2019s foreign ministry accused<\/a> the United Kingdom on Wednesday of supplying Ukrainian forces with Storm Shadow missiles that were used to carry out a lethal strike in the Russian city of Bryansk the day before. \u201cIt is obvious that the launch of these missiles was impossible without British specialists,\u201d Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov<\/a> said.<\/p>\n Storm Shadow missiles are long-range weapons jointly produced by Britain and France. Moscow accused London of trying to derail peace talks\u2014even when Russia-Ukraine negotiations have already all but stalled<\/a> due to the Iran war. Britain had no immediate response to Russia\u2019s allegations.<\/p>\n The Kremlin alleges that Kyiv deliberately targeted civilians in Bryansk, killing seven people in what it characterized as a \u201cterrorist attack.\u201d Ukraine, however, maintains<\/a> that it struck the vital Kremniy El factory, which Kyiv\u2019s general staff called a \u201ccritically important link in the chain of production of Russian \u2018high precision\u2019 weapons.\u201d<\/p>\n Meanwhile, Russia has repeatedly been accused of deliberately targeting civilians<\/a> and critical infrastructure<\/a>, such as Ukraine\u2019s power grid.<\/p>\n Odds and Ends<\/p>\n
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