Iran ‘awaiting’ arrival of US forces in Strait of Hormuz: Military official

The Iranian armed forces are eagerly awaiting the arrival of US forces that Washington has claimed would be deployed to escort oil tankers in the Strait of Hormuz, a military official said.

Spokesperson for the Khatam al-Anbiya headquarters Lieutenant Colonel Ibrahim Zolfaghari warned Saturday that the Americans should recall the 1987 fire aboard the supertanker Bridgeton and the recent attacks on oil tankers.

“This also relates to your ships – although you may intend to deploy them as floating assets, it's not inconceivable that they could sink vertically at the bottom of the Persian Gulf,” he added.

On February 28, the United States and the Israeli regime started their unprovoked military assault on Iran. Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei was assassinated in the first wave of terrorist attacks.

Iran began to swiftly retaliate against the criminal aggression by launching barrages of missile and drone attacks on the Israeli-occupied territories as well as on the US bases in regional countries.

Iran has repeatedly emphasized that it only targets American assets and bases in the region and does not seek conflict with Arab countries.

Iran welcomes, awaits US escort of oil tankers through Strait of Hormuz: IRGC spox

Iran welcomes the escorting of oil tankers by US forces through the Strait of Hormuz and waits for it, a spokesperson for the IRGC said on Thursday.

Zolfaghari noted that Iran respects the interests and national sovereignty of neighboring countries and has not violated them to date.

He declared that any location deemed a source of aggression against Iran will be a legitimate target and that Iran will never back down against the United States or the Israeli regime.

Zolfaghari added that countries that have not allowed their airspace or facilities to be used by the US or the Israeli regime have not been, and will not be, targeted.

However, he added that “all bases identified as the origin of aggression against Iran will continue to face heavy strikes on land, sea, and air.”

Zolfagharī underlined that Iran “struck and destroyed them to serve as a warning to anyone who attacks our nation. From now on, any facility or equipment rebuilt in the name of the enemy will be repeatedly pulverized.”

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