- Tehran says US bases, aircraft carriers are within range of its missiles.
- Says US bases could become ‘legitimate targets’ if US attacks.
- Military spox warns that Iran’s response to US action will not be limited.
PARIS: Iran threatened on Thursday to immediately attack US bases and aircraft carriers in response to any attack, after US President Donald Trump warned that time was running out for Tehran and the European Union blacklisted its Revolutionary Guards as a terrorist group.
As Brussels and Washington ratcheted up their own rhetoric and Iran issued sharp threats, UN chief Antonio Guterres called for nuclear talks to “avoid a crisis that could have devastating consequences in the region”.
An Iranian military spokesman warned that Tehran’s response to any US action would not be limited – as it was last June, when US aircraft and missiles briefly joined Israel’s brief air war against Iran – but would be a decisive response “delivered immediately”.
Brigadier General Mohammad Akraminia told state television that US aircraft carriers have “serious vulnerabilities” and that several US bases in the Gulf region are “within the range of our medium-range missiles”.
“If such a miscalculation is made by the Americans, it certainly won’t play out the way Trump envisions — to conduct a quick operation and then, two hours later, tweet that the operation is over,” he said.
An official in the Gulf, where states host US military sites, told AFP that the fear of a US attack on Iran was “very clear”.
“It would throw the region into chaos, it would hurt the economy not only in the region but in the United States and send oil and gas prices skyrocketing,” the official added.
Protests in Iran
Qatar’s leader Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani and Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian held a call to discuss “efforts being made to de-escalate tensions and establish stability,” Qatar News Agency (QNA) reported.
The European Union, meanwhile, stepped up pressure by designating the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) a “terrorist organization” over a deadly crackdown on recent mass protests.
“‘Terrorist’ is indeed how to call a regime that crushes the protests of its own people in blood,” EU chief Ursula von der Leyen said, welcoming the “overdue” decision.
Although largely symbolic, the EU decision has already drawn a warning from Tehran.
Iran’s military criticized the EU’s “illogical, irresponsible and spite-driven action” and claimed the bloc was acting out of “obedience” to Tehran’s arch-enemies – the US and Israel.
Iranian officials have blamed the two countries for the latest wave of protests, claiming their agents incited “riots” and a “terrorist operation” that hijacked peaceful demonstrations sparked over economic grievances.
Trump had threatened military action if protesters were killed in the anti-government demonstrations that broke out in late December and peaked on January 8 and 9.
But his latest statements have been about Iran’s nuclear program, which the West believes is aimed at making an atomic bomb.
On Wednesday, he said “time is running out” for Tehran to strike a deal and warned a US naval strike group that arrived in Middle Eastern waters on Monday was “ready, willing and able” to hit Iran.
Conflicting tolls
Iranian authorities acknowledge that thousands were killed during the protests, putting the death toll at more than 3,000, but say the majority were members of the security forces or bystanders killed by “rioters”.
Billboards and banners have gone up in the capital Tehran to reinforce the authorities’ messages. A massive poster appears to show an American aircraft carrier being destroyed.
