{"text":[[{"start":8.2,"text":"US President Donald Trump has vowed to “assume total control” of Iran’s main oil and gas markets in a dramatic escalation of his threats as he tries to pressure Tehran into agreeing to a deal that would reopen the Strait of Hormuz. "}],[{"start":23.25,"text":"In a post on his Truth Social platform, Trump said the US would hit Iran “very hard tonight”, adding that he intended to seize the key oil export hub of Kharg Island and other parts of the country’s oil infrastructure."}],[{"start":36.3,"text":"The president has previously mooted the possibility of the US seizing Kharg, but analysts have warned it would represent a huge escalation, require putting boots on the ground and risk American casualties."}],[{"start":49.25,"text":"“The United States will be hitting Iran (Whose Navy, Air Force, Radar, Anti Aircraft, and all other forms of Defense, together with most its offensive capability, are GONE!), VERY HARD TONIGHT,” Trump wrote on Thursday."}],[{"start":63.6,"text":"“At some point in the not too distant future, we will be taking Kharg Island, and other oil infrastructure points, and assume total control of their Oil and Gas Markets, much like we have with Venezuela, which is working out brilliantly for both Venezuela and the United States of America,” he added."}],[{"start":81.55,"text":"Brent crude reversed earlier losses to trade flat at about $93 a barrel."}],[{"start":87.25,"text":"In an apparent response to Trump, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, Iran’s top negotiator, warned: “Wrong strategies and impulsive decisions will reset the entire board for the worse, explode energy infrastructure and markets and create an endless quagmire that you will be stuck in for years.” "}],[{"start":104.05,"text":"“You will see a different Iran,” Ghalibaf said in a post on X. "}],[{"start":108.8,"text":"Trump’s warning came after the US and Iran traded overnight strikes for a second consecutive day, in the most serious threat to a fragile two-month ceasefire that the adversaries are struggling to agree a deal to extend."}],[{"start":122,"text":"Taking Kharg Island, where 90 per cent of the Islamic republic’s oil is normally loaded on to tankers, would give the US control over virtually all of Iran’s oil exports."}],[{"start":132.5,"text":"But the eight-square-mile island — which the US has previously bombed during the war — located 15 miles from Iran’s mainland coast is well within range of Tehran’s remaining missiles, drones and artillery."}],[{"start":144.4,"text":"The president began the week insisting that the US and Iran were close to an agreement, saying it could be signed in “two or three days”. But Trump has used increasingly belligerent rhetoric as he vented his frustration about the failure to get a deal over the line as the warring parties have traded fire."}],[{"start":162.9,"text":"He ordered US strikes against Iran on Tuesday after Iranian forces shot down an Apache helicopter as it patrolled the Strait of Hormuz the previous day. Iran responded by firing missiles and drones at US bases in the region — a pattern that was repeated overnight on Wednesday."}],[{"start":180.05,"text":"Talks have continued in a bid to finalise a deal that would extend a fragile ceasefire agreed on April 8 by 60 days, lead to the gradual reopening of the Strait of Hormuz and lay the framework for negotiations on Iran’s nuclear programme."}],[{"start":195.25,"text":"A Qatari delegation travelled to Tehran on Wednesday in an effort to break the stalemate, with talks going on until the early hours of Thursday, before the mediators returned. "}],[{"start":206.4,"text":"A person briefed on the talks said mediators had achieved some breakthroughs and that significant progress was being made towards a deal."}],[{"start":213.95000000000002,"text":"However, Trump then issued his latest threat to bomb Iran. "}],[{"start":217.95000000000002,"text":"Pakistan and Qatar have led mediation efforts to broker a deal between the US and Iran in recent weeks but have struggled to bridge the gaps and deep distrust between the sides. "}],[{"start":228.60000000000002,"text":"Iran has slowed the flow of traffic through the strait — through which about a fifth of the world’s oil and gas normally passes — to a trickle since the US and Israel launched their war against the republic on February 28. "}],[{"start":240.60000000000002,"text":"The US is also imposing a naval blockade to prevent ships entering or leaving Iranian ports in a bid to increase the economic pressure on Tehran. "}],[{"start":250.20000000000002,"text":"Shortly after Trump’s post, US Treasury secretary Scott Bessent wrote on X: “Any damage [Tehran] inflicts on our allies in the Gulf will be paid for with funds extracted from Iranian Accounts. Any tolls paid to the Persian Gulf Strait Authority will be offset by funds extracted from their accounts.”"}],[{"start":269.3,"text":"The idea of using Iran’s assets — including up to $100bn in frozen funds held across a range of countries overseas — to pay for repairing damage caused by Iranian strikes on the Gulf comes as Iran and the US have haggled over whether to release some of that money back to Tehran as part of any deal."}],[{"start":287.55,"text":"“As long as both sides believe that coercive pressure strengthens their hand at the negotiating table, the indicators of a diplomatic opening and those of a return to major hostilities remain almost impossible to distinguish,” said Ali Vaez at Crisis Group. "}],[{"start":303.65000000000003,"text":"He added that the contours of a deal that could consolidate and stabilise the ceasefire have long been clear."}],[{"start":310.3,"text":"“The challenge is that it would require both sides to settle for less than their maximalist objectives,” Vaez said. “Instead, they continue to exchange blows in the hope that the next one will alter the balance decisively in their favour.”"}],[{"start":332.35,"text":""}]],"url":"https://audio.ftcn.net.cn/album/a_1781230887_9570.mp3"}