Iran’s Defence Council has said in a statement that any attack on the country’s southern coast and islands will be met with the obstruction of the Gulf routes. The council said that all access routes in the Gulf will be mined with various types of sea mines, including the floating mines.
The threat from the Iranian authorities has come after reports that the United States was eyeing a blockade of the Kharg Island to reopen the Strait of Hormuz for all shipping.
Kharg Island is Iran’s main oil export hub.
“Any attempt to attack Iran’s coasts or islands will cause all access routes in the Gulf (…) to be mined with various types of sea mines, including floating mines that can be released from the coast,” the statement read.
“In this case, the entire Gulf will practically be in a situation similar to the Strait of Hormuz for a long time (…) One should not forget the failure of more than 100 minesweepers in the 1980s in removing a few sea mines.”
The Defence Council recalled that non-belligerent states can only pass through the Strait of Hormuz by coordinating passage with Iran.
The Israel-United States and Iran conflict has roiled financial markets and sent energy prices soaring as the critical shipping channel, Strait of Hormuz, remains suspended.
The threat has come just two days after Iran, for the first time ever, revealed its missile range capabilities as it launched ballistic missiles at the joint US-UK military base in Diego Garcia on Friday, 20 March.
The missile range puts major European cities, including London and Paris, at risk of an attack from Iran, if the European bases are used to target the Middle East country. However, it is not clear whether Tehran possesses any more of the intermediate-range ballistic missiles.
Iran also recently threatened America that any attack on Tehran’s power plants, or if Donald Trump’s warning to “obliterate” them is followed through, Tehran would target key infrastructure across the Middle East.
Iran’s military operational command said in a statement on Tasnim news agency, “Following previous warnings, if Iran’s fuel and energy infrastructure is attacked by the enemy, all energy, information technology, and desalination infrastructure belonging to the US and the regime in the region will be targeted.”
Trump said in a social media post late Saturday that he would “hit and obliterate” Iran’s power plants, beginning with the biggest one, if it didn’t open the Strait of Hormuz within 48 hours.
(With agency inputs)
