Tehran warns of crushing response to any US attack on critical infrastructure
Iran has warned that it will launch devastating retaliatory strikes against American military assets and infrastructure across the region if the United States follows through on threats to target the Islamic Republic's critical infrastructure.
Speaking on behalf of Iran's Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters on Thursday, spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Ebrahim Zolfaghari condemned what he described as continued US aggression and interference in West Asia, stressing that Iran would never permit an outside power to dictate security in one of the world's most strategic waterways.
"The United States continues its arrogance and destabilization of the region," Zolfaghari said. "Under no circumstances and in no form will Iran allow the United States, as a country from outside the region, to intervene in the Strait of Hormuz."
He described the strategic waterway as an "unbreakable red line" for the Islamic Republic.
Zolfaghari warned that if US President Donald Trump proceeds with recent threats to strike Iran's power plants, bridges and other civilian infrastructure, Tehran's response would be overwhelming.
"Everything that has remained intact until now, namely the infrastructure across the region, will be crushed under the strikes of the Iranian armed forces until nothing remains," he said.
The Iranian military, he added, would not respond proportionally but would launch "a superior strike, more severe, broader and more destructive than ever before."
"The fire of the anger of a people who have never surrendered will burn the aggressor," Zolfaghari declared.
The warning follows renewed statements by President Trump threatening to target Iranian infrastructure if Tehran refuses to comply with US demands regarding navigation through the Strait of Hormuz.
Trump has indicated that power stations, bridges, oil facilities and desalination plants could become military targets if negotiations fail, while also pledging to expand American military operations against additional targets inside Iran.
The remarks have been widely condemned in Iran as an escalation against civilian infrastructure and a violation of international law.
As US attacks on southern Iran continue, the Islamic Revolution Guard Corps (IRGC) announced a series of retaliatory operations targeting American military installations across the region.
The IRGC said fighters from its Aerospace Force successfully struck a major US military base in the Azraq area of Jordan using advanced Kheibar-Shekan ballistic missiles, destroying a hangar housing American fighter aircraft as well as a command-and-control center.
In a statement, the IRGC described the operation as a precision strike against military infrastructure used in attacks on Iran.
Addressing the Jordanian public directly, the IRGC emphasized that its operations were aimed solely at American military forces rather than the people of Jordan.
"O proud people of Jordan, you are among those who have witnessed firsthand the crimes of America and the Zionists more than any other people," the statement said.
The IRGC urged Jordanians to prevent their territory from being used as a launchpad for attacks against Iran.
"Do not allow the use of the sacred land of Jordan, which is the birthplace of the footsteps of the prophets, to commit these crimes against children," it added.
The statement further called on Jordanians to resist the continued American military presence in their country.
The IRGC also announced that its naval forces targeted the US military base at Sheikh Isa in Bahrain during the tenth phase of Operation True Nasr 2.
According to the statement, the operation destroyed air surveillance and radar systems as well as fuel storage and pumping facilities used by American fighter aircraft.
Iran said the strike was carried out in retaliation for recent US attacks on Iranian coastal installations and civilian sites, including a children's cancer hospital and a water production facility in Ilam Province.
The IRGC said the military operation remains ongoing.
Earlier, the IRGC announced strikes against US military positions in Kuwait, saying the operations were directed exclusively at American forces.
The statement stressed that Iran harbors no hostility toward the Kuwaiti people and respects their dignity and sovereignty.
According to the IRGC, American military bases stationed in Kuwait have served as launch points for attacks against Iran, making them legitimate military targets under Tehran's defensive operations.
The IRGC also called on the Kuwaiti people to oppose the continued presence of US military forces on their territory.
The latest exchange comes as military confrontation between Iran and the United States continues to intensify across West Asia.
During the night and early Thursday, US forces launched attacks on Bandar Abbas Port, the cities of Rask and Konarak in Sistan and Baluchestan Province, Ahvaz, and areas surrounding Qeshm Island.
Iranian officials have maintained that the country's armed forces will continue responding decisively to what they describe as American aggression, insisting that the Islamic Republic possesses both the capability and determination to defend its sovereignty, territorial integrity, and strategic interests against any further escalation. (ILKHA)
LEGAL WARNING: All rights of the published news, photos and videos are reserved by İlke Haber Ajansı Basın Yayın San. Trade A.Ş. Under no circumstances can all or part of the news, photos and videos be used without a written contract or subscription.
Iran has condemned a US airstrike that struck near a children's cancer hospital in the southwestern city of Ahvaz, describing the attack as a "barbaric act" that endangered the lives of critically ill children and forced the emergency evacuation of more than 200 young patients.
Smoke from hundreds of wildfires burning across Canada blanketed large portions of the United States on Thursday, triggering widespread air quality alerts from the Upper Midwest to the Northeast.
Thousands of demonstrators gathered in central Kyiv and several other Ukrainian cities on Thursday, calling for the reinstatement of Mykhailo Fedorov as defense minister following his dismissal by President Volodymyr Zelensky.