Iran Warns of ‘More Devastating’ Response to Any New Military Action

A dual-track signal — openness to diplomacy paired with an explicit retaliation warning — is the standard posture of a state trying to set terms for de-escalation without appearing to fold. For energy and shipping markets, the relevant question is not the rhetoric itself but whether it is read as posturing or as a genuine shift in risk appetite; the two look identical in headlines and diverge only in follow-through. What matters next is whether the diplomatic track produces any concrete channel, or whether the threat language hardens further.