IRGC says ready to defend Iran’s maritime borders, counter enemy moves in Strait of Hormuz 

The Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) Navy has expressed its readiness to counter any plots hatched by Iran’s enemies in its territorial waters, including the Strait of Hormuz.

In a statement released on Thursday, the IRGC Navy announced its new operation which was conducted as part of the 63rd wave of the attacks in retaliation for the illegal US-Israeli aggression against Iran.

It said that it had destroyed “key targets” at the US bases of al-Dhafra and Minhad in the UAE, as well as al-Adairi in Kuwait, and Mina Salman in Bahrain.
During the combined missile and drone operation, the building housing commanders at Minhad military facility, along with fuel tanks and equipment, were all hit, it added.

Iranian ballistic missiles also struck early-warning radars and the central ramp of al-Adairi base.

Meanwhile, the IRGC Navy said that Iranian drones, as well as cruise and ballistic missiles, targeted al-Dhafra’s fuel tanks and early-warning radars belonging to US terrorist forces and their fifth naval fleet in Mina Salman.

“The IRGC Navy is ready to defend the Islamic Republic’s maritime borders and strongly confront any possible conspiracy by the enemies in the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz,” it emphasized.

The US and Israel launched their unprovoked act of aggression against Iran on February 28 by assassinating Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, along with senior military commanders, in flagrant violation of the country’s sovereignty.

The enemies have deliberately targeted Iran’s civilian infrastructure and energy facilities.

The Iranian Armed Forces began to swiftly retaliate against the terrorist military assault by launching barrages of missile and drone attacks on the Israeli-occupied territories as well as on the US assets in regional countries.

They have also blocked the Strait of Hormuz to oil and gas tankers affiliated with the aggressor regimes to maintain security at the strategic waterway lying between the Persian Gulf and the Sea of Oman.

Giant oil tanker retreats from Strait of Hormuz

Additionally, on Thursday, the IRGC’s Public Relations Department said that a giant tanker, with the capacity of 160,000 tons of oil and the purported flag of Barbados, was forced to retreat from the Strait of Hormuz after it attempted to challenge the transit restrictions imposed by Iran there.

“This strait is the field of Iran’s sovereignty and authority, where every passage is defined within the framework of rules determined by Tehran,” the elite military force noted. “The ship that entered the field by relying on a purported flag and false calculations finally retreated after realizing the heavy costs of confrontation.”

It further described the incident as a symbol of Iran’s active deterrence, saying it reflects a new balance of power, in which the initiative lies in Iran’s hands and the opposite side is forced to retreat despite possessing largest logistic capacities.

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