Iran warned Thursday that the Strait of Hormuz remains an untouchable “red line,” saying it would target infrastructure across the Gulf if US President Donald Trump follows through on threats to strike Iranian infrastructure.
The warning came after the United States carried out a fifth consecutive night of attacks on Wednesday and reinstated a naval blockade on Iranian ports. Washington says the operation is intended to force the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, which Iran shut last Saturday after a fragile ceasefire broke down.
Following the initial wave of strikes Wednesday night, Tehran’s chief negotiator, Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, issued a stark statement: “We are in an essential and existential war with America.”
Iranian army spokesman Brigadier General Mohammad Akraminia said Thursday that the Strait of Hormuz — a vital shipping corridor that carried roughly one-fifth of the world’s oil and gas shipments before the war — is a “red line” under Iran’s firm control.
“The Americans thought that by attacking some of our bases on the southern coasts of the country, they could take control of this strategic strait,” Akraminia said.
“However, the Islamic Republic of Iran has the ability to exert control over the Strait of Hormuz from every single point of its territory, and this matter is never dependent on coasts and islands.”
Three US officials told Reuters that the strikes, while aimed at compelling Iran to reopen the strait, are also focused on degrading Iranian military assets that Washington would seek to eliminate before undertaking more complex operations.
Iran’s army had earlier vowed to resist any attempt to challenge its position in the waterway, saying: “We will undoubtedly resist until the end and will neutralize American interventions in the region.”
Iran’s military spokesperson has said that the only way to reopen the Strait of Hormuz was for the US to comply with the 14-point memorandum of understanding that the two sides signed in June, and the implementation of “Iranian regulations” regarding ship traffic in the strait.
IRAN WARNS TRUMP AGAINST STRIKING ITS INFRASTRUCTURE
Trump on Tuesday threatened to hit Iranian power plants and bridges next week unless Tehran resumes negotiations.
Akraminia said that if Trump carried out the threat, Iran’s armed forces would strike “all remaining infrastructure” across the region, and the response would be more severe, wider in scope and more destructive than previous attacks.
Iran said on Thursday it had targeted US bases in Kuwait and Jordan, warning its neighbors that allowing the US to launch attacks against it would not go unanswered.
“Our neighbors should know that providing a base to the Americans and allowing them to fire on Iranian soil is unacceptable and will not go unanswered,” Iran’s army said in a statement.
By early Thursday in the Middle East, sirens sounded in Bahrain, and Kuwait said it was responding to “hostile drone threats”.
Iran’s army said it targeted the Al Azraq Air Base in Jordan with ballistic missiles, while Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said they had destroyed the satellite communications centre and early warning radar at the Ali Al Salem Air Base, as well as a US military pier in the Al Shuaiba area of Kuwait.
The Bahraini Defense Ministry said the country’s air defense systems had intercepted and destroyed a number of Iranian aerial attacks targeting the kingdom on Thursday.
The latest escalation and Iran’s threats to shut off more regional energy exports and possibly strike regional infrastructure raise the specter of a return to full-scale war in the region.
Analysts say Iran has signaled it may use its Houthi allies in Yemen to shut the Bab el-Mandeb gateway to the Red Sea, opening a new front against Washington and putting a second of the world’s most vital energy arteries at risk.
The war has killed thousands of people and displaced millions, mainly in Iran and Lebanon, where conflict restarted between Israel and Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah.
