*Hardline security chief issues stark warning to Gulf nations
*Pentagon: 774 US casualties recorded in Iran war *America turns on economic pressure
Emmanuel Addeh in Abuja
Iran’s parliament has moved to strengthen Tehran’s control over shipping through the strategic Strait of Hormuz, approving a provision that would allow the country to charge vessels from countries it authorises to transit the waterway, as the United States prepares to intensify economic pressure on Tehran.
The development came as Iran’s newly appointed Supreme National Security Council secretary, Mohsen Rezaei, issued a stark warning to Gulf countries against joining Washington’s economic campaign, threatening that Tehran would prevent oil from leaving the Persian Gulf if regional states supported the US.
