Iran threatens to retaliate against Gulf energy and water after Trump ultimatum
Maayan Lubell, Alexander Cornwell And Idrees Ali
Dubai: Israel launched a new wave of attacks against Tehran, with a top American commander telling Iranians to stay in shelters for the foreseeable future, while Iran renewed attacks on its Gulf neighbors and threatened to start hitting their energy and water infrastructure.
As Iran continues its pressure on the Strait of Hormuz, US President Donald Trump gave Tehran 48 hours to open the strategic waterway to all ships and said that otherwise the US will “destroy” Iran’s power plants. Trump issued his threat on social media early Sunday (Middle East time zones).
Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard said on Monday that if the United States follows through on its threat, Iran will respond by striking power plants in all regions that supply electricity to American bases and “economic, industrial and energy infrastructures in which Americans have a stake.”
“Rest assured that we will do this,” the guard said in a statement read on Iranian state television.
When Israel struck Iran’s capital, the military said it “launched a large-scale wave of attacks” on infrastructure targets in Tehran, without immediately elaborating.
Admiral Brad Cooper, chief of United States Central Command, claimed in an interview that Iran was launching missiles and drones from populated areas and suggested that these areas would be targeted by the United States.
“You need to stay inside for now,” Cooper told Iranian civilians in an interview broadcast early Monday with the Persian-language Iran International satellite network.
“As the president has stated, there will be a clear signal that you can come out at some point.”
Air defenses in the United Arab Emirates intercepted a ballistic missile near Al Dhafra Air Base in Abu Dhabi and one person on the ground was injured by shrapnel.
While warning sirens were sounding in Bahrain and Kuwait, the Saudi Arabian Ministry of Defense announced that a missile targeting Riyadh was intercepted and the unmanned aerial vehicles over the kingdom’s oil-rich Eastern Region were destroyed.
While oil prices remained stubbornly high in early trading, the price of Brent crude oil was around US$112 per barrel; This is up nearly 55 percent since Israel and the United States launched the war by attacking Iran on February 28.
The war also led to wild fluctuations in global stock markets; Traders are increasingly worried about the world energy crisis and other issues.
In addition to targeting Israeli and American bases, Iran is also attacking the energy infrastructures of its Arab neighbors in the Gulf.
It also maintains tight control over shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, which stretches from the Persian Gulf to the open ocean and carries a fifth of the world’s oil, along with other key commodities.
Many ships pass through the strait and Iran insists that it remain open; Not just to the US, Israel or their allies. On Sunday, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi blamed the United States for the problem everyone is facing, saying the attack on Iran had led insurance companies to halt shipping through the strait for fear they would have to pay huge compensation if the tankers were damaged or destroyed.
Iran says it will completely block the critical waterway if Trump follows through on his threat to attack Iranian power plants.
Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammed Bagher Qalibaf also said that Iran will now consider vital infrastructure in the region, including energy and desalination facilities critical for drinking water in the Gulf countries, as legitimate targets.
Electricity makes Gulf cities livable, in part by powering desalination plants in Bahrain and Qatar that produce 100 percent of the water consumed. Such facilities use seawater to meet more than 80 percent of drinking water needs in the UAE and 50 percent of water supply in Saudi Arabia.
In his first one-on-one interview since the start of the war, Cooper said the campaign against Iran was “ahead.” [of] or planned,” and that the United States and Israel are targeting Iran’s infrastructure and production facilities to destroy its capacity to rebuild its military.
“This is not just about the threat today,” he said. “We are eliminating the threat of the future, both in terms of unmanned aerial vehicles, missiles and the navy.”
He suggested he could bring the war to a quick end if Iran stopped fighting back, but did not say whether that would prompt Israel and the United States to step back before all infrastructure targets were destroyed.
“They could definitely stop this war right now if they wanted to,” he said of Iran.
“They need to stop putting the great people of Iran at risk by firing missiles and drones from populated areas… They need to stop attacking civilians in the Middle East region immediately.”
Iran’s war death toll exceeds 1,500, the health ministry said. 15 people lost their lives in Iranian attacks in Israel. More than a dozen civilians have been killed in attacks in the occupied West Bank and Gulf Arab countries.
In Lebanon, officials say Israeli strikes targeting Iran-linked militia group Hezbollah have killed more than 1,000 people and displaced more than 1 million. Meanwhile, Hezbollah fired hundreds of rockets at Israel.
AP, Reuters
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