April 29: Iran defies US blockade as national unity surges while crisis deepens in Washington

By Press TV Website Staff

A senior Iranian security source, speaking to Press TV, warned that the US “naval piracy and banditry” will soon face "practical and unprecedented response," as millions filled the streets nationwide to reaffirm allegiance to the Leader of the Islamic Revolution, Ayatollah Sayyed Mojtaba Khamenei, on the birth anniversary of Imam Reza (AS).

Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf stressed that the nation’s cohesion would once again defeat US plots to engineer division, while Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) Navy officials said that surprise tactics await any new American miscalculation.

At the diplomatic level, Iran condemned the US-Israeli attacks on civilian infrastructure as war crimes, and warned the UN of its full legal right to counter illegal vessel seizures.

As Iran consolidates internal stability and asserts greater control over the Strait of Hormuz, Washington faces deepening political and economic strain.

US lawmakers grilled the war secretary over the staggering $25 billion cost of the failed war, gasoline prices hit a four-year high, and public approval of Donald Trump fell again.

Key developments on day 61 of the war, the twenty-second day of the ceasefire:​​​​​​

• The continued American maritime piracy and banditry in the form of so-called "naval blockade" will soon be met with “practical and unprecedented action,” a high-ranking security source told Press TV on Wednesday.
• Millions of Iranians took to the streets of Tehran and other cities nationwide to renew their pledge of allegiance to the Leader of the Islamic Revolution, Ayatollah Khamenei, on the birth anniversary of Imam Reza (AS), the eighth Shia Imam.
• Iran’s Parliament Speaker Qalibaf said the Iranian nation will once again defeat US plots aimed at sowing division in the country through unity and faith.
• The IRGC Navy's deputy for political affairs, Mohammad Akbarzadeh, said the naval force's "surprise tactics" await the US in the event of any fresh miscalculation.
• Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi condemned the US-Israeli strikes against 130,000 civilian facilities, houses, hospitals and non-military infrastructure during the recent war of aggression against the country as a war crime and crime against humanity.
• Iran's ambassador to the United Nations, Amir Saeid Iravani, underlined that the Islamic Republic reserves the right to confront the US seizure of Iranian vessels as part of Washington's continued illegal blockade against the country.
• Iravani also said that the “outlaw and terrorist” Israeli regime poses a significant threat to both regional and international peace and security.
• The Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs denounced Bahraini authorities for their decision to strip citizenship of dozens of nationals on the pretext of "glorifying Iranian retaliatory operations" and "sympathising with" the Islamic Republic during the recent US-Israeli war of aggression.
• The spokesman for the Iranian Parliament’s Planning and Budget Committee, Abbas Ghodrati, asserted that the nation’s oil is being sold at twice the contracted price.
• Iran’s Minister of Sports, Ahmad Donyamali, citing human casualties and widespread destruction of sports infrastructure in recent US and Israeli attacks, urged the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to take a firm stance, suspend Israeli sports activities, and investigate the damage.
• Minister of Information and Communications Technology Sattar Hashemi called on the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) to condemn US-Israeli strikes on Iran’s telecommunication infrastructure.
• Yemen's foreign ministry warned against the adventurism and barbarism of the Trump administration in the Persian Gulf and declared Sana'a's support for Iran's measures in the Strait of Hormuz.
• Head of Iran’s Red Crescent Society Pir Hossein Kolivand called on the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) to take a firm stance against US-Israeli atrocities against civilians in the country.
• Members of Congress grilled US War Secretary Pete Hegseth over the enormous cost of the joint American-Israeli military aggression against Iran. The hearing on Wednesday came after the Pentagon revealed that the aggression against Iran has cost the United States some $25 billion so far.
• US President Donald Trump's approval rating has fallen to 34 percent, down from 36 percent, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll, as dissatisfaction grows over the cost of living and the imposed war against Iran.
• A US Senate hearing exposed concerns that US homeland missile defences are dangerously misaligned with modern warfare, according to a report.
• At least ten people, including three rescue workers, were killed in Israeli airstrikes targeting residential neighbourhoods in southern Lebanon, marking the latest violations of a ceasefire that began on April 16.
• European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen warned that the repercussions of the US-Israeli war against Iran could last for years, as soaring energy prices continue to threaten global markets. 
• According to data from the American Automobile Association (AAA), the United States is currently facing a significant spike in gasoline prices, with the average cost reaching its highest point in nearly four years.
• A majority of Israeli settlers believe the occupying entity’s military has failed to achieve anything since October 2023, amid ongoing wars, internal divisions, and mounting legal pressure on Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
• The United Arab Emirates (UAE) announced it will exit OPEC on Friday, ending decades of membership.
• Crude prices surged after Trump signalled he may reject Iran’s proposal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. Brent crude for June delivery climbed about 2.8 percent, reaching $111.26 per barrel.

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