Iran threatens to plant mines in entire Persian Gulf if Trump launches ground attack
&imwidth=600&imheight=450&format=webp&quality=medium "Iran threatens to plant mines in entire Persian Gulf if Trump launches ground attack")
Iran has said it will lay sea mines in the entire Persian Gulf. Photograph: (AFP)
Iran has warned that it will line the entire Gulf with mines if Donald Trump attacks Iran’s coasts or islands. Reports suggest that Trump is thinking about putting forces on the ground in Iran and attempting an occupation of the Kharg Island.
Iran has threatened to mine the entire Persian Gulf if the US attacks the country’s coasts or islands. Iran’s Defence Council warned on Monday that “any attempt to attack Iran’s coasts or islands will cause all access routes in the Gulf ... to be mined." Notably, the United States is reported to be contemplating deploying ground forces in Iran and a blockade or occupation of Kharg Island, Iran’s main oil export hub, to force it to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. “The only way to pass through the Strait of Hormuz for non-belligerent countries is coordination with Iran,” the statement from the high-level security body said. “Any enemy attempt to attack Iranian coasts or islands” will lead to “all access routes and communication lines in the Persian Gulf and coasts being mined with various naval mines,” a report by CNN stated. A fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas is transported through the waterway, and its closure has led to an oil crisis and price rise. However, a day earlier, Iran stressed that "the Strait of Hormuz is not closed, and maritime traffic through it has not been suspended."
It mentioned that "Iran has prevented the passage of vessels belonging to or affiliated with the aggressing parties and those participating in their acts of aggression" and is "exercising its inherent right of self-defence." It added, that "vessels, equipment, and any capacities belonging to the aggressing parties—namely the United States and the Zionist regime—and other participants in this aggression do not qualify as engaging in normal and non-hostile passage. "
Trump's deadline on Strait of Hormuz
US President Donald Trump has given Tehran a 48-hour deadline to fully reopen the Strait of Hormuz, which expires Tuesday at 5.14 am IST. He has warned of a major attack on "their various POWER PLANTS, STARTING WITH THE BIGGEST ONE FIRST". If this happens, the conflict will further escalate and shut down the transportation of whatever oil and gas is passing through the Strait of Hormuz. The Iranian military earlier vowed to hit back with attacks on American-operated energy and desalination infrastructure in the area. "If you hit electricity, we hit electricity," Iran's Revolutionary Guards said in a statement. "We are determined to respond to any threat at the same level as it creates in terms of deterrence."
Trending Stories
)
&im=FitAndFill=(700,400))
&im=FitAndFill=(700,400))
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
&im=FitAndFill=(700,400))
)
&im=FitAndFill=(700,400))
)
)
)
&im=FitAndFill=(700,400))
&im=FitAndFill=(700,400))
&im=FitAndFill=(700,400))
&im=FitAndFill=(700,400))
)
)
)
)
)
&im=FitAndFill=(700,400))
)
)
Iran has said that "non-hostile vessels" belonging to countries not participating in "acts of aggression" will "benefit from safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz." However, if Trump marches ahead with the threat of hitting Iran's power plants, it could completely close down the strait for other ships, too.
