Hours after US President Donald Trump warned Tehran against attacking vessels in the Strait of Hormuz, Iranโs Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) escalated its rhetoric, threatening to carry out operations that it said would lead to โnational mourning in America.โ
According to Iranโs state-linked Tasnim News Agency, the IRGC said that if the conflict continued, it would launch โregret-inducing operationsโ that would result in national mourning in the United States. The statement appeared to allude to the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
The warning came amid growing tensions between Washington and Tehran following Trumpโs threat to target Iranian infrastructure in response to attacks on shipping in the Strait of Hormuz. In a post on social media, Trump said the United States would destroy one Iranian bridge or power plant every time Iran attacked a vessel in the strategic waterway.
He said the response would apply to attacks carried out using missiles, rockets, drones or any other weapon.
Iran’s oil halt threat
Iranian Parliament Speaker and senior negotiator Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf warned that if Iran was unable to export oil, no other country in the region would be able to sell its oil either.
“The equation of this war is clear: either all or none”ย Ghalibaf said in a post on X. He added that no regional infrastructure would remain safe unless Iranโs security was guaranteed and said the Strait of Hormuz would not be secure as long as US forces remained in the region.
Iranian state media also reported that Tehran would respond to any US strike by targeting infrastructure linked to American interests across the region, particularly energy facilities.
What Trump had said
Trump warned that the United States would bomb and destroy one Iranian bridge or power plant each time Iran attacked a ship in the Strait of Hormuz.
โFrom this point forward, any time the Islamic Republic of Iran shoots at a ship in the Strait of Hormuz, whether it be by missile, rocket, drone, or any other device or weapon, the United States will bomb and destroy ONE BRIDGE OR POWER PLANT,โ Trump wrote on social media.
Iranian state media said any such US strike would be met with attacks on infrastructure and bridges across the region, particularly facilities connected to American interests.
The exchange of threats has heightened concerns that the confrontation between Washington and Tehran could escalate further, destabilise the region and disrupt global energy supplies.
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