Iran issued a stark warning Thursday, declaring the Strait of Hormuz an inviolable “red line” and vowing to strike infrastructure throughout the Gulf region if U.S. President Donald Trump follows through on his threat to attack Iranian power plants and bridges.
The United States launched its fifth consecutive night of strikes Wednesday and reinstated a naval blockade of Iranian ports. Washington says the blockade is intended to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, which Iran closed last Saturday after a fragile ceasefire fell apart.
Following the first wave of strikes Wednesday night, Tehran’s chief negotiator Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf released a statement declaring: “We are in an essential and existential war with America.”
Iranian army spokesman Brigadier General Mohammad Akraminia told reporters Thursday that the Strait of Hormuz — which handled roughly one-fifth of the world’s oil and gas shipments before hostilities broke out — is firmly under Iranian control and will not be surrendered.
“The Americans thought that by attacking some of our bases on the southern coasts of the country, they could take control of this strategic strait,” Akraminia said. “However, the Islamic Republic of Iran has the ability to exert control over the Strait of Hormuz from every single point of its territory, and this matter is never dependent on coasts and islands.”
Three U.S. officials told Reuters that the American strikes aimed at forcing the strait open are also designed to degrade Iranian military capabilities in preparation for potentially more complex operations down the line.
Iran’s army made clear its intentions in an earlier statement: “We will undoubtedly resist until the end and will neutralize American interventions in the region.”
Iran’s military spokesperson added that the only path to reopening the strait would be for the U.S. to honor a 14-point memorandum of understanding signed by both sides in June, along with compliance with Iranian rules governing ship traffic through the waterway.
On Tuesday, Trump threatened to target Iranian power plants and bridges the following week if Tehran refused to return to the negotiating table. Akraminia responded Thursday, warning that if Trump acted on that threat, Iran’s armed forces would hit “all remaining infrastructure” across the region in a response that would be broader, more severe, and more destructive than anything seen so far.
Iran also announced Thursday that it had struck U.S. military bases in Kuwait and Jordan, cautioning neighboring countries that permitting American forces to use their territory to attack Iran would carry consequences. “Our neighbours should know that providing a base to the Americans and allowing them to fire on Iranian soil is unacceptable and will not go unanswered,” Iran’s army stated.
By early Thursday morning in the Middle East, air raid sirens were heard in Bahrain, and Kuwait reported it was dealing with “hostile drone threats.” Iran’s army said it fired ballistic missiles at the Al Azraq Air Base in Jordan, while Iran’s Revolutionary Guards claimed they destroyed a satellite communications center and early warning radar at the Ali Al Salem Air Base, as well as a U.S. military pier in Kuwait’s Al Shuaiba area. Bahrain’s Defense Ministry said its air defense systems successfully intercepted and destroyed several Iranian aerial attacks on the kingdom.
Analysts warn that Iran may also direct its Houthi allies in Yemen to blockade the Bab el-Mandeb strait, which connects to the Red Sea — potentially opening a second front and putting another of the world’s most critical energy shipping lanes at risk.
The ongoing conflict has claimed thousands of lives and forced millions from their homes, primarily in Iran and Lebanon, where fighting has resumed between Israel and the Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah.
