Iran warned on Sunday it could retaliate against any US strike on its vital infrastructure by disrupting key international waterways and targeting American forces across the region, according to remarks by a lawmaker carried by Iranian media.
“If Americans want to threaten our vital infrastructure like the energy sector or our export terminals, they themselves know that certainly the Strait of Hormuz and Bab al-Mandab will be closed and the Suez Canal will definitely become insecure,” Salar Velayatmadar, a member of parliament’s national security and foreign policy committee, told Didban Iran.
Velayatmadar said Iran would not be forced to retreat from its positions by military threats. “Today our finger is on the trigger and if the enemy makes a mistake, it will see that the blow it receives will be much more severe than before,” he said.
He warned that US bases in countries around Iran would be targeted if Washington “puts a foot wrong,” saying the entire region would be drawn into the conflict.
Velayatmadar dismissed President Donald Trump’s recent statements about sending aircraft carriers and “very big, very powerful ships” toward Iran as bluster, arguing that moving warships closer to Iran indicated the United States did not intend to fight because such vessels would become clear targets.
Velayatmadar added that he saw no sign of war unless the United States committed what he called a “suicidal” act, warning that any attack would backfire and trigger global consequences given Iran’s control over strategic waterways.
