"Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic warned on Tuesday that escalating tensions in the Middle East and rising oil and gas prices could push Europe into severe economic turmoil. "I find myself in an impossible position. I will tell you today’s figures — we have not allowed them to appear at the pumps — but you must understand that things are not normal. If this continues, we will all, across Europe, quite literally be in hell," he said during a press briefing from the headquarters of one of the national electricity market operators, EMC. Vucic added that the closure of the Strait of Hormuz was a major threat to global energy markets, saying oil prices would 'run wild' if the key shipping route remained blocked. "What truly affects people’s lives is the closure of the Strait of Hormuz. That is why it is important that China insisted — as a sincere friend of Iran — that the Strait of Hormuz be reopened," he said. He also criticised what he described as inadequate preparation and security planning by those involved in the conflict. "They might at least have undertaken serious preparations. Greater preparations were made against little Serbia when it was attacked than have been calculated with regard to Iran," he said adding: "Consider it from a security perspective: they did not secure their buildings or their facilities in the region. One would think someone might consider what the side defending itself would do first. I no longer understand anything," Vucic concluded. Recently, the advisor to the Chief Commander of Iran's Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC), General Sardar Ebrahim Jabbari, declared that the Strait of Hormuz has been closed, warning that the country will take action against any movement by oil tankers through the passage. This comes after the United States and Israel launched a joint military operation against Iran on Saturday, with US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowing to 'destroy Iran’s missiles'. In response, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) announced 'large-scale missile and drone attacks' targeting Israeli territory. Regional reports also indicated that US military facilities across the Middle East, including bases in the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Qatar, Iraq and Kuwait, were struck amid the widening confrontation. Iranian state media confirmed that Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei was killed during the strikes. Trump described the development as “the greatest opportunity for the Iranian people to reclaim their homeland.” The escalations follow three recent rounds of nuclear talks between Iranian and American officials, one held in Muscat and two in Geneva."