Iran’s Revolutionary Guards have warned the United States against deploying naval escorts for ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz, a key global oil route where maritime traffic has been severely disrupted amid the ongoing Middle East conflict.
The warning was issued on Saturday by the Guards’ spokesman, Ali Mohammad Naini, who said Iranian forces were prepared to respond if US naval escorts entered the strategic waterway.Naini said the United States should reflect on previous incidents involving oil tankers in the Gulf before making any decision to deploy warships.“We are waiting for their presence,” he said after the US energy secretary disclosed that the US Navy was preparing to escort ships through the strait “as soon as it’s reasonable to do it.”“We recommend that before making any decision, the Americans remember the fire of the American supertanker Bridgeton in 1987 and the oil tankers that were recently targeted,” Naini added, according to Fars news agency.The Strait of Hormuz, which connects the Persian Gulf to the Gulf of Oman and the Arabian Sea, is one of the world’s most critical energy transit routes, carrying a significant portion of global oil shipments.
Meanwhile, Iran’s President, Masoud Pezeshkian, has insisted that the country will never surrender to Israel or the United States as the regional war entered its second week.Speaking in a televised address on Saturday, Pezeshkian said Iran would continue to resist external pressure despite ongoing military strikes.“Iran’s enemies must take their wish for the unconditional surrender of the Iranian people to their graves,” he said in the broadcast carried by state television.
