‘We’re ready to fire’ — IRGC threatens the US

Thousands of ships and seafarers remain stranded near the Strait of Hormuz amid ongoing tensions.

By World Israel News Staff

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) threatened to attack U.S. targets if the American Navy attempts to fire upon or intercept Iranian oil tankers traveling through the Strait of Hormuz.

A spokesperson for the IRGC, which is designated as a terrorist organization by the United States and several other countries, warned that there would be significant retaliation against American bases and naval assets in the Middle East if the U.S. military tried to block Iranian ships from passing through the strategic waterway.

“Any attack on Iranian tankers and commercial vessels will result in a heavy attack on one of the American centers in the region and enemy ships,” the IRGC official was quoted as saying by Chinese media outlet Xinhua News.

Iranian Army spokesperson Mohammad Akrami Nia also warned that countries complying with U.S. sanctions against Iran would “definitely face difficulties passing through the Strait of Hormuz,” according to the state-controlled Tasnim News Agency.

Akrami Nia repeated Iran’s claims that the recent war with the United States had failed to weaken the Islamic Republic’s military capabilities or create internal divisions within the country.

“None of the enemy’s objectives were achieved,” Akrami Nia insisted, adding that “unity and cohesion inside” Iran had been “strengthened” since the start of the conflict.

“The enemy saw that it truly could not break this resistance and ultimately was forced to accept a ceasefire,” he added.

Shortly after the launch of Operation Epic Fury in late February, Iran moved to close the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world’s most strategically important maritime trade routes. Because the passage runs through international waters, the move constitutes a violation of international law.

While Iran has continued allowing its own vessels and some allied ships to pass through the strait, approximately 2,000 ships carrying an estimated 20,000 seafarers remain stranded in the region.

President Donald Trump announced a new initiative last week dubbed Operation Project Freedom, aimed at helping rescue stranded ships by providing them with U.S. naval escorts through the area.

However, the mission was reportedly scrapped just two days later after Saudi Arabia allegedly refused to allow the U.S. military to use its airspace for the operation.