New Delhi [India], April 4 (ANI): Foreign expert Waiel Awwad noted that the United States and Israel have failed to break Iran internally, despite assassinating their top leaders and destroying infrastructure in the ongoing West Asia conflict.

Speaking to ANI on Friday, Awwad stated that any vessel from a country supporting the US will require Iran's permission to pass through the Strait of Hormuz amid the maritime blockade.

The veteran journalist and expert on South and West Asian matters said, 'I think the United States has already been sanctioning Iranians for many years. Unilaterally, they put Iran under very harsh economic sanctions, and that's why they tried to create internal disturbances. They failed. When they went to this war, for the first time last year, they were thinking that the government would fall under the economic hardship and the attack of the Americans and Israelis.'

'Second attack, which is still going on right now, after killing so many of the leaders, including the supreme leaders, and killing so many kids in the schools and all these things; now they have opted to attack their bridges, their civilian installations, and all this gives you an indication that the US and Israel are desperately trying to get some advantage of the situation and trying to break Iran internally, which they have failed. Iran, now, if they have already imposed this sort of a sanction, I don't think any country which is supporting the United States will be in a position, including the United States, to get any ship coming out from the Strait of Hormuz without the permission of the Iranians,' Awwad said.

Amidst the ongoing maritime blockade of the Strait of Hormuz by hostile vessels, a senior Iranian legislator has suggested that Tehran could further escalate pressure on its adversaries by targeting the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, another of the world's most critical maritime chokepoints.

The Speaker of the Iranian Parliament, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, hinted at the potential for significant disruption in a series of questions posted on the social media platform X on Friday.

Raising the stakes regarding global supply chain vulnerabilities, Ghalibaf questioned the extent of the world's reliance on the passage. He asked, 'What share of global oil, LNG, wheat, rice, and fertiliser shipments transits the Bab el-Mandeb Strait? Which countries and companies account for the highest transit volumes through the strait?' implying that the Islamic Republic is evaluating the most impactful ways to exert leverage.

The conflict began on February 28, with US and Israeli strikes against Iran, killing Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

In the latest series of attacks, Iran downed the US' F-15E Strike Eagle fighter jet, while the American forces have successfully retrieved a crew member, according to CNN. (ANI)