Iran’s bold statement comes after Donald Trump’s forces launched a seventh consecutive night of airstrikes on the country on Friday night
Iran today vowed not “a single drop of oil and gas” will leave the Strait of Hormuz until the US ends its “criminal” attacks.
The warning came after Donald Trump’s forces launched a seventh consecutive night of airstrikes on the country on Friday night following two waves of assaults aimed at easing Tehran’s grip on the waterway the previous day.
In a statement on Saturday, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said: “Until the aggressions of criminal America end, the export of chemical fertiliser and even a single drop of oil and gas from this region will not be possible.” The body also claimed two ships had hit mines and exploded in the strait, but US Central Command denied it.
According to US media, the latest strikes hit “military logistics infrastructure”, including surveillance sites, underground weapons storage, and maritime capabilities. Iranian state media claimed the overnight attacks had damaged bridges and hit an electricity and desalination plant in the southern province of Jask, leaving about 10,000 people without water.
Video released by US Central Command, known as CENTCOM, showed several cruise missiles being launched from a Navy warship. The footage also included fighter jets taking off and at least three targets, including what appeared to be a communications tower and a highway road bridge, being hit.
In a chilling threat, a CENTCOM statement said: “More than 50,000 American service members are operating across the Middle East and remain vigilant, lethal, and ready.” The US are also vowing to enforce a naval blockade against Iranian ports.
Iranian state media today reported explosions in parts of central and southern Iran, including Ahvaz, Lar, Yazd and Sirik, while the country’s military leaders responded to the attacks by firing missiles and launching drones at several countries in the region. Kuwait’s army claimed they had intercepted Iranian missiles and drones. Jordan’s military said it stopped incoming missiles launched by Iran. And air raid sirens also reportedly sounded in Bahrain.
Meanwhile, a spokesperson for Iran’s health ministry today announced that at least 50 people have been killed in US strikes on Iran since June 27. The collapse of an interim ceasefire leaves no end in sight for the war that the US and Israel began more than four months ago.
Iran’s deputy foreign minister Kazem Gharibabadi today said the country has suspended its commitments to the Memorandum of Understanding, which was agreed between Tehran and Washington last month and designed to bring about a ceasefire. He said: “We have also suspended our commitments; we are not implementing them and are busy defending our country.”
Donald Trump previously said the agreement was “over” during a NATO summit in Ankara, Turkey. Earlier this week, portraits of Trump, his wife Melania and his children Ivanka, Barron, Donald Jnr, Tiffany and Eric behind US flag-draped coffins were put up in Tehran’s Palestine Square.
On Tuesday, President Trump vowed to hit Iran “very hard” before threatening to target power plants in the country if the country refuse to agree a deal to stop the war. He said: “We’re going to hit them very hard tonight. We’re going to hit them very hard tomorrow night. “We’re going to hit them very hard the night after, and then next week it gets really bad for them because next week comes the power plants. Next week comes the bridges. We’re going to knock out all their power plants. We’re going to knock out all their bridges unless they get to the table and negotiate.”
