M-East crisis: Trump makes new attack threat on Iran

…Claims to be talking to new regime

…Spain closes airspace to US aircraft involved in Iran war

…As EU extends human rights sanctions on Iran by 1yr
By Nkiruka Nnorom with agency reports

US President, Donald Trump, has again threatened to blow up Iranian power plants, including Kharg Island, its main oil terminal in the Persian Gulf, if Tehran does not agree a peace deal “shortly”.

The threat of blowing up the power plants came, despite his claims of talking to a new regime in Iran in negotiations he said were making “great progress”.

Trump had made similar threats penultimate week, but rescinded the plan, giving Tehran 48 hours ultimatum to open the Strait of Hormuz, after Iran responded with a threat to strike and completely destroy communication and desalination facilities across the Persian Gulf.

Trump extended the deadline by another 10 days to April 6, following the stand-off over the oil channel, but writing in a post on his Truth Social, yesterday, he suggested a deal would be “probably” reached shortly.

In his latest post, he said: “Great progress has been made but, if for any reason a deal is not shortly reached, which it probably will be, and if the Hormuz Strait is not immediately open for business, we will conclude our lovely stay in Iran by blowing up and completely obliterating all of their electric generating plants, oil wells and Kharg Island (and possibly all desalinization plants!), which we have purposefully not yet touched.”

“This will be in retribution for our many soldiers, and others, that Iran has butchered and killed over the old Regime’s 47 year reign of terror.”

The fresh threat comes after Iran’s foreign ministry, Abbas Araghchi, contradicted Trump over his previous negotiation claims.

US Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, said Trump preferred diplomacy as a way to end the conflict with Iran, and direct talks with Tehran are ongoing through intermediaries.

Spain closes airspace to US aircraft involved in Iran war

Meanwhile, Spain has closed its airspace to US planes involved in attacks on Iran, Madrid’s Defence Minister, Margarita Robles, has said.

“We will not authorise the use of Morón and Rota [military bases] for any acts related to the war in Iran,” she said, adding that Spain had “made this clear to the American government from the beginning”.

Foreign Affairs Minister, José Manuel Albares, stated that the aim of the decision was to discourage anything that could lead to an escalation in the war.

The US did not immediately comment but President Donald Trump has previously threatened to impose a full trade embargo on Spain over its opposition to the Iran war.

Since the start of the war in late February, Spanish Prime Minister, Pedro Sánchez, has been one of the most vocal opponents of the US and Israeli attacks on Iran, describing them as “reckless” and “illegal”.
Earlier in March, Sánchez said Spain had denied the US use of the two jointly run military bases at Rota and Morón, both in Andalusia.

EU extends human rights sanctions on Iran for another year

These came as the Council of the European Union yesterday said the bloc’s restrictive measures against serious human rights violations in Iran have been extended until April 13, 2027.

“These measures consist of a travel ban and an asset freeze, and a ban on exports to Iran of equipment which might be used for internal repression, and of equipment for monitoring telecommunications,” a statement said.

EU citizens and companies are “forbidden from making funds available to the listed individuals and entities”, it said, adding the list comprises “a total of 262 individuals and 53 entities” after a deceased individual was removed from it.

The EU first introduced a sanctions regime for serious human rights abuses in Iran in 2011, and has extended it ever since on an annual basis.

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