Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi warned that his country would take retaliatory measures if US President Donald Trump's threats to strike bridges and power plants in the Islamic Republic were carried out, DPA reported, BTA reported.
“Our defense doctrine is clear: an eye for an eye“, Araghchi wrote on the social network Ex. “Any aggression against Iran, including against infrastructure, will provoke a strong and decisive response. Those who support such aggression, regardless of the type of support, will also be considered legitimate targets,“ the Iranian foreign minister added.
Earlier on Wednesday, Trump said that the US military would destroy a bridge or power plant every time Iran hits a ship in the Strait of Hormuz.
“From now on, every time the Islamic Republic of Iran hits a ship in the Strait of Hormuz, whether with a ballistic missile, another missile, a drone or any other device or weapon, the United States will bomb and destroy a bridge or a power plant,” Trump wrote on social networks.
The US military announced in the early hours of today that it is striking Iran for the twelfth consecutive night, the Associated Press reported, citing a statement from the US Central Command (CENTCOM), BTA reports.
The target is “to further weaken Iran's capacity to threaten civilian sailors and merchant ships“ in the region, the statement said.
Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said a mine explosion caused a fire on board an oil tanker that was trying to pass a mined route south of the Strait of Hormuz, Reuters reported.
The IRGC statement said two other tankers sailing the same route had changed course.
The elite Iranian formation noted that the Strait of Hormuz was under its control and was “completely closed“.
All vessels that want to pass through the key sea route will have to coordinate their course with Iran, the IRGC statement said.
The text did not disclose the names of the tankers, nor when exactly the incident occurred.