The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) indicated this Monday that it attacked an Israeli-owned container ship and a US assault vessel, as well as reported missile launches over Haifa and other points, while warning of attacks on its civilian infrastructure. In a statement published on its official communication medium Sepah News, the IRGC provided details about wave number 98 of its attacks against Israeli and American targets, which was launched hours earlier. The IRGC identified the container ship as “SDN7” and stated that it was precisely hit by cruise missiles and then caught fire, according to extensive reports by Xinhua, which the Argentine News Agency takes. The US amphibious assault ship USS Tripoli (LHA-7), with more than 5,000 personnel on board, was forced to withdraw to the south of the Indian Ocean after being attacked, it was indicated. The IRGC added that its forces also hit strategic centers in the Israeli city of Haifa, as well as companies and petrochemical plants in Be’er Sheva with precision ballistic missiles, and noted that a meeting place for Israeli forces was also attacked in Petah Tikva, in central Israel. According to the IRGC, among the other targets hit by missiles and drones were a center for the joint production of unmanned aerial vehicles of the United Arab Emirates and Israel, as well as a series of aircraft at Ali Al Salem airbase in the Arab state. Indeed, Israel had reported that two bodies were first found and then two more at the site of an Iranian missile attack in the northern city of Haifa. The victims were trapped under the rubble of a multi-story residential building that collapsed as a result of Sunday’s attack, the army said in a statement. Fire and rescue services announced on Monday that they had recovered two bodies and that searches continue to find the other missing persons. Warning Iran also warned that it will respond with “much more devastating” and broader retaliatory strikes if there are new attacks against its civilian targets. “If attacks against civilian targets are repeated, the next phases of our offensive and retaliatory operations will be much more devastating and extensive,” a spokesman for the Central Headquarters Jatam al-Anbiya said. Previously, the President of the United States, Donald Trump, had threatened to destroy Iran’s civilian infrastructure if the Strait of Hormuz remained closed. Meanwhile, Ali Akbar Velayati, an advisor to Iran’s Supreme Leader, warned on Sunday that the resistance front could target the Bab el-Mandeb Strait. “If the White House thinks of repeating its mistakes, it will soon realize that the flow of global energy and commerce can be interrupted with a single signal,” Velayati wrote on social media, hinting at a possible closure of this maritime route. The Bab el-Mandeb Strait, which connects the Red Sea with the Gulf of Aden, is a key strategic point for maritime transit between the Atlantic, the Indian Ocean, and the Mediterranean. Meanwhile, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Russia, Sergei Lavrov, and his Iranian counterpart, Seyed Abbas Araghchi, called on Sunday for an immediate cessation of attacks against civilian and energy infrastructure, as detailed in Moscow by the mentioned ministry. During a telephone conversation, the two ministers recognized the importance of suspending “reckless and illegal attacks” against civilian, industrial, and energy facilities, including the Bushehr nuclear power plant. The foreign ministers warned that such actions represent threats to the lives and health of power plant workers and could lead to a radioactive disaster affecting the region as a whole. Lavrov expressed hope that the efforts of certain countries to de-escalate tensions around Iran will be successful and added that it would be fundamental for the United States to abandon the language of ultimatums and return to negotiations.
