Iranian commander: "If the US occupies the islands - they will become their graveyards"
A commander in the Revolutionary Guards told the newspaper "Al-Akhbar" that Iran has been preparing for years for the possibility of closing the Strait of Hormuz. He further revealed that after the decision to close the strait, several Gulf states approached Iran with a request for passage approval, but in most cases were refused.
A field commander in the IRGC Navy stated this morning, Friday, in an interview with the newspaper "Al-Akhbar" that they have been prepared for the possibility of closing the Strait of Hormuz for many years.
According to him: "Days before the elimination of the leader of Iran, Ali Khamenei, we were in a state of alert and conducted maneuvers that simulated the closing of the strait and the defense of the islands. When the commander of the IRGC Navy, Alireza Tangsiri, issued the order to close it, we moved from a state of alert to a state of attack."
He added: "We notified all ships via channel 16 on the communication system about the decision to close the strait, and warned that any ship that attempts to pass through it would be subject to attack." The Iranian commander further noted that many did not take the warning seriously at first, but when the first missile was launched, there was shock on the vessels passing through the strait.
The commander revealed that several countries in the Persian Gulf approached the Iranian side with a request for passage approval, but the response was usually negative. "The UAE was the first to contact Iran on this matter, before sending a delegation in the first days of the war to ask to continue exporting Iranian vegetables." According to him, the regime allowed this export to continue.
Regarding the possibility that the military confrontation will resume, the commander said he expects the war to return in the near future because "the US does not stand by its promises and agreements."
Regarding the scenario that the US will take over Iranian islands in the Persian Gulf, the commander said:
"The American army cannot establish a presence on the Iranian islands, even if it dares to carry out a ground attack. Maybe it can launch an attack with marines and then retreat immediately, but staying on the islands is impossible. Let's assume they occupy the islands and succeed in establishing their occupation — the islands will become their graveyards."
Against this background, the Iranian commander threatened that the response to any attempt to occupy the islands will exceed all expectations and break all previous "red lines."
