Iran’s Armed Forces warned that all U.S. economic centers in the region would become legitimate targets after the U.S. Central Command announced its intention to target Iranian ports.
Armed Forces spokesperson Sardar Shekarchi said: “If the slightest threat is made against our ports, no port or dock in the Persian Gulf will remain safe.
All of them—along with every economic center in the region—will become legitimate targets for us, and we will carry out operations more severe than before.”
Shekarchi also dismissed claims by U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) that it had detected vessels of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy at Iranian commercial docks and ports.
In remarks carried by Iranian state television, he stressed that “the naval forces of the IRGC and the army are far stronger than to be stationed within populated or economic centers.”
The spokesperson further emphasized that “the initiative in the Persian Gulf today lies in the hands of our forces,” noting that the U.S. command had used such claims as a pretext to target Iran’s economic facilities and conduct actions against innocent civilians.
He also urged neighboring countries “not to grant the Americans refuge and to expel them,” explaining that “we respect the sovereignty and interests of Muslim peoples, but their resources and territories have today turned into shelters for the Americans.”
Earlier in the day, U.S. Central Command urged “civilians in Iran to immediately avoid all maritime facilities and ports where Iranian naval forces operate,” calling on Iranian port workers, administrative staff, and crews of commercial vessels to stay away from Iranian naval ships and military equipment.
CENTCOM accused Iran of “using civilian ports along the Strait of Hormuz to conduct military operations that threaten international navigation,” adding that “this dangerous behavior puts innocent lives at risk, and civilian ports used for military purposes lose their protected status and become legitimate military targets under international law.”
