Iran has announced its retaliation plans against possible military moves by the US and Israel. A senior Iranian official speaking to Tasnim News Agency said that they have detailed and comprehensive intervention plans in response to any hostile action by the US. The official explained that these plans include targeting Israel's energy infrastructure as well as US energy facilities across the Middle East.
The official, who argued that the 40-day war has demonstrated Tehran's ability to retaliate and disrupt regional energy supplies, made these remarks following a Wall Street Journal report. The newspaper, citing unnamed US officials, wrote that US President Donald Trump had approved a new military operation against Iran and that operations could begin this weekend.
Trump, for his part, said on Friday that he is ready for intense military operations, adding that strong attacks on Iran would weaken its leadership and force it to retreat from its current positions. Military tensions between Washington and Tehran have escalated since the ceasefire collapsed on July 8.
Amid this tense atmosphere, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) announced on Saturday that an oil tanker was struck by an unknown weapon off the Sultanate of Oman. UKMTO stated that the vessel suffered damage to its engine room but no injuries were reported. The incident occurred approximately 12.5 nautical miles off the coast of Lima, Oman. No one has yet claimed responsibility for the attack.
The tanker attack came after Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) announced that it had targeted two oil tankers in the Strait of Hormuz for violating regulations and forced four other tankers to change course. In its latest statement, the IRGC claimed the vessels were attempting to transit under US air cover, rejecting the US Central Command's (CENTCOM) statements on naval operations in the strait. The IRGC also reiterated that its naval forces maintain full control over the Strait of Hormuz and warned that US military intervention and 'illegal directives' against commercial ships would not go unanswered.
