Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) threatened on Saturday (May 9) to target US sites across the Middle East if its tankers come under fire, Iranian media reported, as Washington was left waiting for Tehran’s response to its latest negotiating position.
“Any attack on Iranian tankers and commercial vessels will result in a heavy attack on one of the American centres in the region and enemy ships,” the Guards said, a day after US strikes on two Iranian tankers in the Gulf of Oman.
US President Donald Trump had said on Friday he was expecting Iran’s answer to Washington’s latest peace proposal “supposedly tonight.” But there was no public sign of a response delivered through Pakistani mediators, and Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi reportedly questioned the reliability of US leadership in a call with his Turkish counterpart, according to Iran’s ISNA news agency.
“The recent escalation of tensions by American forces in the Persian Gulf and their numerous actions in violating the ceasefire have added to suspicions about the motivation and seriousness of the American side in the path of diplomacy,” Araghchi was quoted as saying.
A US fighter jet on Friday fired on and disabled two Iranian-flagged tankers that Washington accused of challenging its blockade of Iran’s ports. An Iranian military official told local media the navy had responded with strikes. The incident followed another flare-up the night before in the Strait of Hormuz, the international shipping lane Iran is seeking to control to extract tolls and wield economic leverage. Washington has said it is unacceptable for Tehran to control the key oil route.
The IRGC threat is the sharpest escalation since the latest tanker incident and adds to mounting Hormuz-driven shipping risk shaping fuel costs for importers including Sri Lanka.
Source: Ada Derana (Reuters).
