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No catch for the day: Pakistan's tuna trade caught in US-Iran crossfire

In Iranian waters, a strange trade is taking place — Pakistani fishermen exchange subsidised Iranian fuel for high-value tuna, a barter system now under threat from escalating United States-Iran tensions. Shah Zamin Khan is among thousands of Pakistani tuna traders whose lucrative business has been at a near standstill since February, when the war between the US, Israel and Iran began. The recent targeting of Iranian seaports by Washington has made matters worse. Iran's southern ports of Konarak, Pasabandar and Beris, which border Pakistan's southwestern Balochistan province and serve as key fish trade hubs, are among the sites targeted by US airstrikes in recent weeks. "Our businesses were already affected by the war but the recent targeting of Iranian seaports have turned the region into a no-go area for us over the past one month," Khan told Anadolu. Boat owners, according to Khan, have completely stopped sending their vessels to the Iranian ports fo...
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Iran warns US of ‘decisive response’ to Trump’s threats of bombing

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei warned on Monday that the US would face a strong blow if it acts on President Donald Trump’s threat to bomb Iran unless Tehran agrees to a new nuclear deal. Trump reiterated his threat on Sunday that Iran would be bombed if it does not accept his offer for talks outlined in a letter sent to Iran’s leadership in early March, giving Tehran a two-month window to make a decision. In response, Iran issued a warning on Monday regarding Trump’s threats to Switzerland’s embassy, which represents US interests and acts as an intermediary between Washington and Tehran. Tehran expressed its determination to respond “decisively and immediately” to any threat. “The enmity from the US and Israel has always been there. They threaten to attack us, which we don’t think is very probable, but if they commit any mischief they will surely receive a strong reciprocal blow,” Khamenei said. “And if they are thinking of causing sedition inside the country as in past years, the Iranian people themselves will deal with them,” he added. Iranian authorities have blamed the West for recent unrest, including the 2022-2023 protests over the death in custody of Mahsa Amini, a young woman detained for allegedly flouting hijab rules, and nationwide protests in 2019 over fuel price rises. Last week, Iran responded to the US letter, with President Masoud Pezeshkian explaining on Sunday that Tehran would not enter direct negotiations with Washington but was willing to continue indirect talks, in line with an injunction from Khamenei. “An open threat of ‘bombing’ by a head of state against Iran is a shocking affront to the very essence of international peace and security,” Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei tweeted on Monday. “Violence breeds violence, peace begets peace. The US can choose the course and concede to consequences.” Revolutionary Guards Aerospace Commander Amirali Hajizadeh also issued a warning to US forces in the Middle East, stating that “Americans have at least 10 bases in the region with 50,000 troops. They are in a glass house and should not throw stones.” During his first term from 2017-2021, Trump withdrew the US from a 2015 deal between Iran and world powers, which had placed strict limits on Tehran’s disputed nuclear activities in exchange for sanctions relief. Trump also reimposed sweeping US sanctions. Since then, Iran has far exceeded the uranium enrichment limits set by the deal. Western powers accuse Iran of seeking to develop nuclear weapons capabilities by enriching uranium to a high level of fissile purity, above what they argue is justifiable for a civilian atomic energy program. Tehran, however, insists its nuclear program is entirely for civilian energy purposes.

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