Iran: Will Retaliate Against U.S. Energy Infrastructure if Iran's Oil and Energy Infrastructure is Attacked

Iran - The U.S. military attacked Khark Island on Friday, from which almost all of Iran's oil is exported. President Trump said all military targets were "destroyed," but energy facilities were spared. Iranian Foreign Minister Zarif said: "Our armed forces have shown that if our oil and energy infrastructure is attacked, they will retaliate. He also added that Iran would attack any energy infrastructure belonging to U.S. companies or where U.S. companies are shareholders in this region.

AFP reported that the Iranian foreign minister stated that the U.S. attack on Khark Island used short-range rockets launched from two bases in the UAE, one of which is near Dubai.

He said, "They used the territory of our neighboring countries to attack us with such rockets, which is absolutely unacceptable."

"They chose to launch attacks in densely populated areas, which is very dangerous," he said. "We will certainly retaliate, but we will try to avoid attacking any densely populated areas."

According to Fars News Agency, the U.S. operation "attempted to destroy Iran's defensive structures, Jowshan Naval Base, airport control tower, and the helicopter hangar of the Iranian continental shelf oil company."

Trump threatened on Friday that if Iran does not allow crude oil to freely pass through the blocked Strait of Hormuz, he would bomb the oil infrastructure on Khark Island.

Khark Island is located in the northern part of the Persian Gulf, about 30 kilometers (19 miles) from the Iranian mainland, a shrub-covered island that handles about 90% of Iran's crude oil exports.

An Iranian regional official said on Saturday that after the U.S. attack on Iran's Khark Island oil export hub in the Persian Gulf, oil export operations on Khark were normal, and the attack did not result in any casualties.

According to the Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA), Deputy Governor of Bushehr Province Esmaeil Jahanian stated that activities at the oil company at this export terminal were "proceeding normally."

Deputy Governor Jahanian said that after the attack, "residents' daily lives and daily activities were completely maintained."

He added that the attack "did not cause any casualties among military personnel, company employees, or residents of Kharg Island."

Sources: rfi

Original: toutiao.com/article/1859681329689667/

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