TEHRAN Bernama-IRNA): Iran’s Armed Forces have control over the Strait of Hormuz, which will remain closed until the United States accepts Tehran’s conditions, Army spokesperson Brigadier General Mohammad Akraminia said, the Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) reported.
Speaking Friday evening at a ceremony in Pishva County, Tehran Province, honouring commanders and pilots killed in the June 5, 1963, uprising, he said Iran’s Army, Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) and Law Enforcement Command were better prepared after direct confrontation with the United States and the Israeli regime.
He said public support had boosted military morale. Before the war, about 130 ships crossed the strait daily, carrying 20 per cent of global oil, plus jet fuel and chemical fertilisers.
Akraminia warned that renewed US aggression would prompt an immediate response. American bases and interests in the Persian Gulf and beyond West Asia, he said, were within range of Iranian drones and missiles. Forces would follow the order of the Leader of the Islamic Revolution, Ayatollah Sayyid Mojtaba Hosseini Khamenei, to respond swiftly, effectively and without geographic limits.
Citing US officials, Akraminia put Washington’s direct war costs at more than $48 billion, with indirect losses potentially lasting years.
The military official cited Republican election setbacks and protests in European countries.
He also said 251 nights of public solidarity gatherings had further strengthened national unity. -- BERNAMA-IRNA
