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Iran would target shipping in the Red Sea, a crucial conduit for global oil and other goods leading up to the Suez Canal, if the US launches a ground invasion, an unnamed military official told local media on Wednesday.
“If the enemy attempts a ground operation on Iranian islands or anywhere else on our territory, or if it seeks to impose costs on Iran through naval manoeuvres in the Persian Gulf and the Sea of Oman, we will open other fronts as a ‘surprise’,” the official was quoted as saying by the Tasnim agency.
“The Bab el-Mandeb Strait is among the most strategic straits in the world, and Iran has both the will and the capability to pose a fully credible threat against it,” the official continued.
Read Also: Russia ‘Very Outraged’ By Strike On Iran Nuclear Plant Site
Russia on Wednesday strongly criticized strikes on areas near Iran’s Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant (NPP).
In a statement, the Foreign Ministry said that a “new and extremely dangerous strike” was carried out on Tuesday in the immediate vicinity of the operating power unit No. 1 at the Bushehr NPP.
“We are extremely outraged by this reckless, irresponsible manifestation of a destructive course. One gets the impression that the aggressors are deliberately seeking to cause a large-scale nuclear catastrophe in the region in order to conceal and justify their criminal acts,” the ministry said.
Read Also: US Sends 15-Point Ceasefire Plan, Iran Military Dismiss Talks
It emphasized that the US-Israeli actions have “already resulted in numerous casualties among the peaceful Iranian population.”
“Washington and West Jerusalem must understand no less than we do – a hit on the Bushehr NPP would inevitably lead to irreversible humanitarian and environmental consequences,” it stressed.
The ministry said “only by a miracle has a tragedy not yet occurred,” warning that strikes are being carried out “increasingly closer” to the operating power unit.
“The lives of the station’s personnel, including Russian specialists, are under constant threat. This is categorically unacceptable to us,” it said.
The ministry demanded that “those who recklessly, irresponsibly, and without justification attacked Iran return to reason, cease their unprovoked aggression, including strikes on Iran’s nuclear energy infrastructure.”
The ministry pointed out that the Bushehr NPP falls under the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Comprehensive Safeguards Agreement, as well as facilities located in its immediate vicinity.
“We expect a clear, unequivocal position and decisive action from the IAEA, the UN, and their leadership to prevent further such attacks,” it said.
Meanwhile, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Washington has provided no assurances that the Bushehr nuclear power plant would not be targeted.
The United States submitted a 15-point ceasefire proposal to Iran through Pakistani intermediaries on Wednesday, even as Iran’s military publicly mocked the diplomatic gesture, launching fresh attacks on Israel and the Gulf region and declaring that Washington was “negotiating with itself” — a collision of diplomatic signaling and continued combat that briefly calmed oil markets before the military’s rejection restored most of the session’s gains.
The ceasefire plan was submitted to Iran by intermediaries from Pakistan, who have offered to host renewed negotiations, according to a person briefed on the contours of the proposal who spoke on condition of anonymity. Israeli officials, who have been advocating for Trump to continue the war against Iran, were surprised by the submission of the ceasefire plan. The White House did not respond to requests for comment. Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif publicly confirmed his country’s mediating role on X, writing: “Pakistan welcomes and fully supports ongoing efforts to pursue dialogue to end the war in the Middle East. Subject to concurrence by the US and Iran, Pakistan stands ready and honored to be the host to facilitate.”
