Tehran, March 19
Iran's Islamic Revolution Guards Corps has taken onus of attacks on what they dub are Oil facilities associated with the US in the Region. IRGC said the attacks were part of the 63rd wave of its ongoing retaliatory Operation True Promise 4 which was undertaken after the US-Israel strikes on Iran.
The Corps' Public Relations Office said in a statement. "Staged with full force, the 63rd wave also came in retaliation for the martyrdom of Iran's Intelligence Minister Esmaeil Khatib and others during the aggression."
By conducting the strikes, it added, the adversaries had also sought to exact revenge on the nation over the ongoing countrywide rallies it has been staging in support of Iran's Islamic establishment and in protest against the aggression.
'Attack on Iran's energy infrastructure took conflict to new stage. The Islamic Republic did not intend to expand the war to oil facilities and did not wish to harm the economies of friendly and neighboring countries. However, with the enemy's aggression against energy infrastructure, Iran has effectively entered a new stage of the conflict, and the necessity to defend the country's energy infrastructure compelled a retaliatory strike against American-linked energy facilities," the IRGC said.
IRGC also claimed to have hit as many as 80 military and military support targets in areas of Israel like Rishon LeZion, Ramla, and Lod in the center; Eilat in the south; and Ramat Gan and Bnei Brak east of Tel Aviv, as well as Bat Yam and Holon south of Tel Aviv. IRGC said all targets were hit surgically using multi-warhead missiles and attack drones.
The IRGC also issued a stern warning to the US-Israel forces against repeating their strikes against the country's energy sites.
"If this is repeated, subsequent attacks on your energy infrastructure and that of your allies will not cease until total destruction, and our response will be far more severe than tonight's strikes," it said.
Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump said that US and Qatar were not aware of the attacks and stated that Israel would not target the South Pars Field unless Iran decides to attack Qatar again. He said that Washington would not be afraid of authorising destruction and violence on Tehran if Qatar's energy facilities are targeted again.
"The United States knew nothing about this particular attack, and the country of Qatar was in no way, shape, or form, involved with it, nor did it have any idea that it was going to happen. Unfortunately, Iran did not know this, or any of the pertinent facts pertaining to the South Pars attack, and unjustifiably and unfairly attacked a portion of Qatar's LNG Gas facility. NO MORE ATTACKS WILL BE MADE BY ISRAEL pertaining to this extremely important and valuable South Pars Field unless Iran unwisely decides to attack a very innocent, in this case, Qatar - In which instance the United States of America, with or without the help or consent of Israel, will massively blow up the entirety of the South Pars Gas Field at an amount of strength and power that Iran has never seen or witnessed before. I do not want to authorize this level of violence and destruction because of the long term implications that it will have on the future of Iran, but if Qatar's LNG is again attacked, I will not hesitate to do so," he said in a post on Truth Social.
The attack on Iran's Gas field and Qatar's LNG facilities has sent Oil prices up further, with little sign of any resolution to the conflict soon.
- ANI
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