Iran says it will turn regional shipping routes unsafe after any strike
Iran warned on Sunday it could retaliate against any US strike on its vital infrastructure by disrupting key international waterways and targeting American forces across the region, according to remarks by a lawmaker carried by Iranian media.
“If Americans want to threaten our vital infrastructure like the energy sector or our export terminals, they themselves know that certainly the Strait of Hormuz and Bab al-Mandab will be closed and the Suez Canal will definitely become insecure,” Salar Velayatmadar, a member of parliament’s national security and foreign policy committee, told Didban Iran.
Velayatmadar said Iran would not be forced to retreat from its positions by military threats. “Today our finger is on the trigger and if the enemy makes a mistake, it will see that the blow it receives will be much more severe than before,” he said.
He warned that US bases in countries around Iran would be targeted if Washington “puts a foot wrong,” saying the entire region would be drawn into the conflict.
Velayatmadar dismissed President Donald Trump’s recent statements about sending aircraft carriers and “very big, very powerful ships” toward Iran as bluster, arguing that moving warships closer to Iran indicated the United States did not intend to fight because such vessels would become clear targets.
Velayatmadar added that he saw no sign of war unless the United States committed what he called a “suicidal” act, warning that any attack would backfire and trigger global consequences given Iran’s control over strategic waterways.
The Central Bank of Iran said the pre-printed 5,000,000-rial note entered the banking network on Sunday, describing the move as part of efforts to manage and facilitate the circulation of cash and to speed up everyday transactions.
At an exchange rate of about 1.6 million rials per US dollar, the new note is worth roughly $3.10, showing how years of inflation and currency depreciation have eroded purchasing power.
The central bank said the measure was intended to ease cash payments and provide a replacement for smaller denominations, and did not signal any change in the volume of liquidity.
