Iran has threatened to destroy US military bases and aircraft carriers in the Gulf if they ‘make a mistake’.
A commander in Iran’s elite Revolutionary Guards, Hossein Nejat, said on Tuesday the U.S. regional bases are in range of Iranian missiles, the Tasnim news agency reported.
The threat comes amid heightened tensions between Washington and Tehran, which has sharply increased in recent weeks.
A commander in Iran’s elite Revolutionary Guards, Hossein Nejat, (pictured) said on Tuesday the U.S. regional bases are in range of Iranian missiles, the Tasnim news agency reported
A year after the U.S. pulled out of the 2015 Iran Nuclear Deal, tension between the two nations remain high, with dispute over oil tanker explosions and Tehran’s uranium enrichment program (Pictured: Smoke billowing from Norwegian owned Front Altair tanker said to have been attacked in waters of the Gulf of Oman)
‘American bases are within the range of our missiles … Our missiles will destroy their aircraft carriers if they make a mistake,’ said Hossein Nejat.
‘Americans are very well aware of the consequences of a military confrontation with Iran.’
A year after the U.S. pulled out of the 2015 Iran Nuclear Deal, tension between the two nations remain high, with dispute over oil tanker explosions and Tehran’s uranium enrichment program.
A Ukrainian tanker carrying Iranian oil was seized by US-backed Egypt in the Suez Canal ten days ago, it emerged yesterday.
It comes a day after six ‘spies for Iran’ were locked up by an Egypt’s Supreme State Security Criminal Court.
The men were jailed for between 15 and 25 years, as well as given a $30,000 fine and had their phones and computers taken.
Last Thursday, the British Royal Marines helped seize an oil tanker off the southern tip of Spain and brought it to the Bay of Gibraltar.
The Grace 1 supertanker, able to haul 2 million barrels of crude oil, was found to be in violation of EU sanctions.
The latest drama involving Iran comes a day after six ‘spies for Iran’ were locked up by an Egypt’s Supreme State Security Criminal Court. (Pictured: Stock of ships in the Suez Canal)
Captured: The Grace 1 in the waters of Gibraltar after the supertanker was seized by British authorities last week, prompting fresh tensions with Iran
The cargo came from Iran. Britain alleges that the tanker was heading for Syria, which Iran has denied.
A BP oil tanker, British Heritage, is said to have U-turned at the weekend and taken shelter off the Saudi coast, fearing an Iranian retaliation.
An Iranian military chief warned that Tehran would give an ‘appropriate answer’ for the Gibraltar operation.
Tankers in the Gulf have already come under attack in recent weeks, in explosions which Britain and America have blamed on Iran.
A UAE investigation found four mysterious sabotage attacks on May 12 were linked to a ‘state actor’ but did not name Iran.
The attacks were carried out with limpet mines and were ‘part of a sophisticated and coordinated operation’, the report found.
The tanker attacks inflamed an already tense Middle East stand-off and prompted the US to bolster its military presence in the region.
Matters worsened just four weeks later when another two ships were hit by explosions in the Gulf of Oman.
Forty-four sailors were forced to abandon their ships amid a huge fireball on the MT Front Altair and another blast on the Kokuka Courageous.
America again blamed Iran, releasing a video which purported to show Iranian revolutionary guard forces removing an unexploded limpet mine from one of the ships.
A Ukrainian tanker carrying Iranian oil was seized by US-backed Egypt in the Suez Canal (stock pictured) ten days ago, it has emerged today
Operation: British Royal Marines taking part in the seizure of the Iranian oil tanker in the early hours of last Thursday morning
The row also comes amid heightening Middle East tensions after Iran yesterday threatened to move further away from its 2015 nuclear deal.
Tehran said on Monday that it could restart deactivated centrifuges and ramp up enrichment of uranium to 20 per cent, in violation of the agreement.
But Major General Hossein Salami, the head of the Revolutionary Guards, denied Iran was pursuing a nuclear weapon.
‘Nuclear weapons have no place in Islam. Islam never approves of weapons of mass destruction,’ he insisted.
President Donald Trump calling off air strikes last month minutes before impact, after a U.S. drown was shot down over the Strait of Hormuz (Pictured: Debris claimed to be from downed U.S. drone)
The U.S. claimed the drone was flying in international airspace, while Iran said it had entered its territory (Pictured: Debris claimed to be from downed U.S. drone)
Such threats put new pressure on European countries, which insist Iran must continue to comply with the agreement even though the United States is no longer doing so.
The confrontation has brought the United States and Iran close to the brink of conflict.
President Donald Trump calling off air strikes last month minutes before impact, after a U.S. drown was shot down over the Strait of Hormuz.
The U.S. claimed the drone was flying in international airspace, while Iran said the aircraft had entered its territory.