Full story
Infrastructure Retaliation Threat
Iran warned on Thursday that it would target infrastructure across West Asia if its own facilities came under attack, with senior armed forces spokesperson Abolfazl Shekarchi telling state broadcaster IRIB, "The United States and Israel have no right to be in the region."
“Iran warns of attacks on regional infrastructure after Trump threat Iran has vowed "reciprocal action" after U”
Shekarchi said any damage to Iran's infrastructure would be met with retaliatory strikes against infrastructure elsewhere in the region, and he described Iran's control of the Strait of Hormuz as "a source of security for the entire region."
Kurdistan24 reported that Iran’s warning came as military exchanges spread across the Gulf and maritime security deteriorated, with Ebrahim Zolfaghari, spokesperson for Iran's Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters, calling the Strait of Hormuz a strategic red line.
Zolfaghari declared, "every piece of infrastructure in this region is squarely in the crosshairs" of Iran's armed forces if Iranian infrastructure is targeted, and he warned that "the region's entire infrastructure will be destroyed."
Trump, Houthis, and Quotes
Iran’s threats were framed alongside President Donald Trump’s warning that U.S. forces would target Iranian power plants and bridges next week, with Trump telling Fox News, "Next week it gets really bad for them because next week comes the power plants."
In a statement published on Telegram, a spokesperson for Iran's top military command said that if Trump's threats were implemented "everything that is still intact … that is, all the infrastructure in the region – will be crushed under the steel blows" of Iran’s armed forces.
Ynetnews, citing three sources told Reuters, said Iran asked its Houthi allies in Yemen to stand ready to close the Bab el-Mandeb Strait if the United States followed through on Trump’s threat to attack Iranian power plants and bridges.
One Reuters source close to the Houthis said the group had completed preparations to attack shipping by deploying missiles and drones near the Bab el-Mandeb Strait and was awaiting the order to begin, while another source said representatives of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps already in Yemen would control the decision on whether and when the Houthis launch attacks on ships.
Stakes for Shipping and Energy
The warnings and retaliatory language were tied to the Strait of Hormuz as a focal point of fighting, with Iran’s army spokesman Brigadier General Mohammad Akraminia calling it a “red line” and saying the Americans thought they could take control of the strait, but "the Islamic Republic of Iran has the ability to exert control over the Strait of Hormuz from every single point of its territory."
Insurance Journal reported that the U.S. launched a fifth night of attacks on Wednesday and reimposed a naval blockade of Iran’s ports, which Washington says is aimed at reopening the Strait of Hormuz, closed by Iran last Saturday after a fragile truce collapsed.
Kurdistan24 added that a drone struck a cargo vessel near Iraq's southern waters off Basra, and Iraqi authorities said port operations continued normally while investigations into the incident remained underway.
The same report said Dana Gas announced Thursday that it had temporarily suspended operations at the Khor Mor gas field because of what it described as credible security threats and the worsening regional situation, and it said the precautionary shutdown reduced gas supplies to electricity generation stations.
