THE Iranian Army warned yesterday that any equipment or vessels destined for use against the Islamic Republic will not be permitted to transit the Strait of Hormuz.
Army spokesman Brigadier General Akraminia emphasised that the strategic waterway remains firmly under the control of the Iranian Armed Forces.
In a stark warning to regional states cooperating with the United States he cautioned that the ‘terrorist’ US military and its partners in the region would encounter ‘severe difficulties’ navigating the Strait.
‘Some southern Persian Gulf countries, which have benefited from the waterway for years to sell billions of dollars of oil and import goods, are today cooperating with the US in attacks against Iran.
‘This action is neither fair nor acceptable, and it must not continue.’
The comments come as tensions continue to escalate in the strategic waterway, through which about 20% of the world’s oil passes.
Further elaborating on Iran’s defensive strategy Akraminia said: ‘Rationality demands we continue fighting until we achieve full deterrence,’ – failure to do so would lead to enemy miscalculations and potentially result in an invasion of Iranian territory.
Iran also confirmed having received proposals from mediators aimed at reducing tensions with the US, said Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei yesterday.
He said the country’s diplomatic efforts are continuing alongside the response of its Armed Forces.
Speaking at his weekly press briefing on Monday, Baghaei said Qatar has put forward new initiatives to revive negotiations, including a possible 10-day ceasefire between Tehran and Washington.
‘But at the same time, the Islamic Republic of Iran will spare no effort to stop US crimes,’ he said.
Responding to media claims that differing interpretations of the Iran-US war-ending memorandum of understanding had led to its collapse, Baghaei dismissed this as ‘completely incorrect,’ as it only served to justify Washington’s failure to honour its commitments.
He said the memorandum consisted of only 14 articles and contained no ambiguous provisions. ‘The text is entirely clear, and the United States has no excuse for violating the agreement,’ he said.
Baghaei pointed to Article 5 as an example, saying it explicitly states that responsibility for the future management of the Strait of Hormuz rests with Iran and will be pursued through consultations with Oman and dialogue with regional countries.
Responding to Trump’s claim that images from the Minab school attack were generated using artificial intelligence, Baghaei said US officials should reconsider the information and assessments they receive.
He dismissed the allegation, saying there is ‘no doubt’ that the attack on the school in Minab had been carried out deliberately by the United States and that Washington was fully aware of its actions.
- In a statement on Monday, the IRGC announced that its Aerospace Force, in the 21st wave of Operation Nasr-2, successfully struck a C-17 transport plane and a P-8 command-and-control aircraft at Jordan’s Aqaba Airport with ballistic missiles acting on information from people inside the country.
The IRGC dedicated the operation ‘to the martyred girls of the Third Imposed War on Iran,’ saying the attack completely destroyed at least two US jets and three other military aircraft, while several additional aircraft sustained major damage.
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