The commander of the ground unit in the Iranian army, Ali Jahanshahi, said on Wednesday that his units are in a state of complete readiness to confront any threat, and that they are deployed on the country’s borders, while a senior official in the “Revolutionary Guard” threatened to reveal “new surprises” if the attacks on Iran continue.
Jahanshahi said, while inspecting units of the 16th Armored Division in Qazvin, west of Tehran, that the ground forces maintain an “active presence” on the border, and that their units are in a state of full readiness to protect Iranian territory, according to the official IRNA agency.
He added: “For the armed forces, a one percent threat is treated as a 100 percent threat; Therefore, in all circumstances, we are fully prepared to confront all threats.”
He said that during the recent rounds of fighting, ground forces units transferred personnel, equipment, and ammunition to their positions under fire, while their movements were being monitored by drones, aircraft, and satellites.
In parallel, Ramadan Sharif, advisor to the Commander-in-Chief of the Revolutionary Guards, warned against using new capabilities if military operations against Iran continued.
IRNA quoted him as saying: “If the enemy insists on miscalculations and the continuation of its aggression, it must prepare to witness new and unique Iranian surprises.”
Sharif referred to the Revolutionary Guards’ announcement of the seizure of an unmanned American underwater vehicle at the entrance to the Strait of Hormuz, considering this an example of “active and technological deterrence.”
Centcom said that one of its marine drones suffered a malfunction while carrying out a mission to survey the waters, and that it is an old model and does not collect sensitive information.
Sharif said that the region is subject to “accurate, comprehensive and moment-by-moment” surveillance, pointing out that Chief of the General Staff Ali Abdullah praised the Commander of the Revolutionary Guard Navy, Ali Azmaei, against the backdrop of recent operations in the Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz.
The readiness statements come with the escalation of the naval confrontation between Washington and Tehran. On Tuesday, Centcom announced the destruction of five Iranian oil tankers in response to two ballistic missile attacks that it said targeted an American warship.
The Revolutionary Guard responded by announcing the targeting of two American ships and eight tankers, without independent confirmation.
Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council, Mohsen Rezaei, said that Tehran had conducted a “fundamental review” of its operational approach toward American ships and assets, and that Washington had received “a clear warning of the new Iranian missiles.”
The British Maritime Trade Operations Authority warned, on Wednesday, of attacks on ships in the Arabian Gulf, after it received reports of several commercial ships being exposed to fire that led to their disruption in the northern Gulf and the Gulf of Oman.
The authority added that it has not yet been able to confirm the occurrence of injuries or environmental damage, noting that the competent authorities are investigating the incidents.
She called on sailors to follow the latest information related to maritime security and to exercise caution as the operational situation continues to change.
In a separate notification, the authority said that it had received a report about an incident involving a commercial ship in the Strait of Hormuz, during which the ship was involved in an incident related to the ongoing military activity in the region.
The authority did not provide details about the identity of the ship or the nature of the damage, and said that the authorities are aware of the accident and investigations are continuing.
The authority issued another warning regarding an accident that occurred 24 nautical miles northwest of Port Rashid in the UAE. She said that the captain of a tanker reported seeing a ship tilted while it was docked, and water may have been leaking into it after it was attacked by a projectile of unknown origin.
In Iraqi territorial waters, two port officials said that the New Andros oil tanker, flying the Panama flag and carrying about two million barrels of Iraqi fuel oil, was attacked by a drone. The two officials added that Iraqi rescue boats extinguished a fire that broke out on board the tanker.
An Israeli official and a knowledgeable source said that Israel had informed the British Consulate in East Jerusalem that it must be closed, and that the diplomats assigned to it would lose their accreditation within 30 days.
The two sources added that British representatives appointed to a US-led Gaza coordination mission in Israel, as well as British diplomats residing in Ramallah, must leave within seven days.
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said yesterday, Tuesday, that Britain should close its consulate in East Jerusalem, which is accredited to the Palestinian Authority. In response to Britain's imposition of sanctions on Israeli settlements in the West Bank.
France and Canada also said, along with Britain, that they would ban the import of goods from the settlements. The Israeli government is scheduled to meet today, Wednesday, to discuss its response to the countries that supported the British action.
