jeremy scahill@jeremyscahill
🚨Iran Warns Trump Against Any U.S. Military Action in the Strait of Hormuz
In response to President Trump’s announcement the US plans to “guide” merchant ships out of the Strait of Hormuz, in an operation CENTCOM says will involve guided-missile destroyers and 15,000 service members, a senior Iranian official told @DropSiteNews that Iran’s leadership rejects any attempt to alter “current conditions” in the Strait and will respond forcefully.
Trump’s action “is primarily intended to provoke Iran into taking an initial step toward confrontation, thereby creating a pretext for escalation and enabling him to justify further military action in response to an Iranian initiative,” the Iranian official said. “Our definitive position is that any commercial vessel attempting to transit through designated restricted routes without prior coordination will be promptly intercepted by Iranian forces. Should U.S. military vessels respond, such actions would be met with an immediate and corresponding response from Iran.”
"The U.S. military vessels are far from the corridor area. If commercial vessels attempt to move, they would be engaged well before reaching any American ships," the official added. "Trump has effectively turned them into bargaining tools in his political game."