Iran responded to President Donald Trump’s looming threat Tuesday with a threat of their own: to lift all “self-restraint” by launching a large-scale attack on energy infrastructure across the Persian Gulf and deprive the United States “of the region’s oil and gas for years.”
“Our self-restraint has come to an end,” reads a statement from the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), Iran’s military apparatus, as reported by the Kurdish news outlet Kurdistan 24.
“America’s partners in the region must know that until today, we have restrained ourselves for the sake of good neighborliness… however, we are now lifting the immunity provided by our previous tolerance. Our focus will be solely on the targets and on seeking revenge.”
Trump has repeatedly demanded that Iran lift restrictions for U.S.-aligned vessels to pass through the Strait of Hormuz, a critical shipping channel through which a fifth of the world’s oil trade flows. Amid ongoing U.S.-Israeli attacks, Iran has refused, and in mid-March, Trump gave Iran 48 hours to re-open the Strait of Hormuz or face the destruction of its power plants.
Trump extended that deadline several times, while also escalating threats to include the destruction of Iranian water treatment facilities and bridges.