Iran is prepared to launch “martyrdom” attacks on the Gulf waterways to disrupt oil supplies passing through the area, the deputy head of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards’ naval force said on Monday.
“A small operation can have a big outcome,” Brig.-Gen. Ali Fahdavi said, according to the Iranian Fars news agency.
He stressed the ability of Iran to surprise its enemies because of the geographic advantages in the Straits of Hurmouz.
Fahdavi said the Basij, a military unit within the Revolutionary Guards, was still inspired by a 13-year-old boy who blew himself up under an Iraqi tank during the Iran-Iraq war in the 1980s.
“This spirit is prevailing throughout the Revolutionary Guards,” he said, adding that the troops would be ready to carry out such operations if the enemy dared attack Iran.
The threat comes at a time of heightened tension between Iran and the United States over Tehran’s nuclear program. Efforts to pressure Iran into abandoning the program are currently focusing on the diplomatic channel, but Washington has not ruled out a military strike on the country.
The U.S. is concerned Iran is secretly manufacturing a nuclear bomb, but Tehran maintains the program is for civilian purposes only.
The Gulf area has immense strategic and economic importance as the main waterway for oil supplies.