Iran’s military has asserted that any ships belonging to the United States, Israel or their allies passing through the strategic strait of Hormuz could be targeted.
In a statement carried by state TV, the military’s central operational command, Khatam Al-Anbiya, said that “any vessel whose oil cargo or the vessel itself belongs to the United States, the Zionist regime or their hostile allies will be considered legitimate targets.”
It reiterated that Iran’s armed forces “will not allow a single litre of oil to transit” through the strait.
It comes as Iran’s revolutionary guards claimed to have fired at the Thai-flagged bulk vessel Mayuree Naree in the strait earlier today, with the Thai navy accounting for 20 crew members members rescued so far.
Three ships were hit by unknown projectiles in the strategic strait of Hormuz near Iran. Two of the ships sustained damage, while another, which the Thai navy identified as a Thai bulk carrier, caught fire, forcing the crew to evacuate.
The Thai-registered Mayuree Naree was attacked in the strait after leaving Khalifa port in the United Arab Emirates, the navy said, adding that the specific details and cause of the attack are under investigation. “Efforts are currently underway to rescue the remaining three crew members,” the Thai navy said.
The carrier is owned by a Thai transport company, Precious Shipping, the AFP reports, and was heading to Kandla in India.
The strait of Hormuz, which connects the Persian Gulf with the Gulf of Oman, is one of the world’s most strategically important choke points. The straight, located south of Iran, would normally have about 100 vessels a day either exiting or entering the Gulf. About one-fifth of the world’s oil passes through the strait.
In response to the US and Israeli airstrikes, Iran has effectively shut the strait, attacking at least 10 ships since the start of the conflict. Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said earlier this week that it will not allow even “one litre of oil” to leave the region if US-Israeli attacks continue.
Meanwhile, US Central Command said that it “eliminated” 16 Iranian mine-laying vessels near the strait of Hormuz.
US President Donald Trump had initially said that there had been “no reports” of Iran placing mines in the strait, but warned that if it had, they must be moved “IMMEDIATELY” or Iran would face military consequences “at a level never seen before.”
US officials earlier told a news agency that Iran may be preparing to deploy naval mines in the strait to further disrupt the crucial shipping lane.
Iran Declares US-Israeli Economic, Banking Interests In Region As Targets
Moreover, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) threatened to attack “economic centres and banks” related to United States and Israeli entities in the region after what it called an attack on an Iranian bank, with the war in its 12th day.
A spokesperson for the Khatam al-Anbiya Headquarters, a group described as IRGC-owned by the United Nations, said that “the enemy left our hands open to targeting economic centres and banks belonging to the United States and the Zionist regime in the region.”
It warned that people of the region “should not be within a one-kilometre radius of banks,” adding, “The Americans should await our countermeasure and our painful response.”
The IRGC-affiliated Tasnim news agency released a list of offices and infrastructure run by top US companies with Israeli links whose technology has been used for military applications, describing them as “Iran’s new targets.”
It added that the companies include Google, Microsoft, Palantir, IBM, Nvidia and Oracle, and the listed offices and infrastructure for cloud-based services are located in multiple Israeli cities, as well as in some Gulf countries.
Iran’s counterattacks have continued as explosions have rocked Tehran, as Iran stated that US and Israeli forces have bombed nearly 10,000 civilian sites in the country and killed more than 1,300 civilians, since the war began on February 28.
Iran’s state broadcaster said today that an Israeli attack overnight on a bank branch in Tehran was an “illegitimate and unusual act in war”, and that “the enemy” has declared economic centres and banks tied to the US and Israel as targets themselves.
According to state television, several employees were killed in the incident. The warnings by the Khatam al-Anbiya Headquarters came after Israel on Monday bombed a Lebanese building in Beirut’s southern suburbs that was reportedly a branch of the Hezbollah-affiliated Al-Qard Al-Hassan financial institution.
Al-Qard Al-Hassan, a quasi-banking institution that offers interest-free loans to people, is one of the many charity organisations run by Hezbollah, including schools, hospitals and low-price supermarkets.
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