A military adviser to Iran’s Supreme Leader has hit out at Washington over alleged plans to establish control over the Strait of Hormuz and to seize Tehran’s energy reserves.
Speaking in a televised interview aired on Monday, Mohsen Rezaei claimed that Iran has displaced much of US forces in Kuwait, Qatar and Jordan, warning that Tehran would not allow what he described as a second maritime corridor through the strait.
Rezaei stressed that any US military deployment in the waterway would be struck. “If they bring an aircraft carrier, we will hit the carrier. If they bring military forces, we will hit them,” Rezaei said, referring to a potential escalation in US military action.
He also claimed that many commercial vessels have turned back after being threatened by Tehran, adding that others that failed to respond were damaged before retreating.
The comments come as Iran says it is negotiating with Oman to reach what it calls ‘an understanding’ on a temporary route through the Strait of Hormuz to allow commercial shipping to resume.
Tehran has repeatedly closed the Strait of Hormuz since the United States and Israel launched attacks on Iran in February.
Talks to end the conflict, mediated largely by international parties, collapsed last month, ending a ceasefire agreed in April.
US President Donald Trump has said fresh talks aimed at ending the conflict will begin on Monday, adding that he had called off ‘massive’ strikes on Iran to allow negotiations to continue.
“I heard that yesterday, apparently, Mr Trump said ‘we had an operation larger than World War II’; his reference is to the very thing I am talking about. Yes, you’re dreaming, Mr Trump; you were in a dream and a fantasy. But why wasn’t it implemented? Why didn’t your people set foot on the ground?” Rezaei said.
He added that Washington aims to “seize Iran’s oil and gas” and take over ‘management’ of the Strait, but stressed that such moves would be impossible.
“Would the world tolerate this? Would even the Europeans tolerate the global economy’s choke point being in America’s hands? Would China tolerate it? This itself could have been a catalyst for World War III,” he warned.
Rezaei also referred to an alleged attack on a vessel by Ukraine, claiming the US had ‘forced’ Kiev to launch the assault. He said Iranian authorities had prepared retaliatory strikes against three locations in Ukraine, before deciding not to proceed after receiving what he described as an explanation that the incident had been ‘a mistake’.
“We are not truly seeking to expand the war and we do not want to incite warmongering,” he added.
The remarks add to tensions surrounding security in the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world’s most important shipping routes for oil and gas exports.
Source: Viory
