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Iran has issued a warning that it may target U.S. financial institutions and economic centers in the Middle East amid escalating tensions in the region.
The Islamic Republic has promised a ‘painful response’ directed at American and Israeli banks following what it describes as the most intense wave of U.S. strikes to date against Iran.
In an effort to disrupt the global economy, Iran has already moved to close the Strait of Hormuz, a critical channel that facilitates the transport of roughly 20 percent of the world’s oil supply.
The Iranian government has further indicated that U.S.-linked economic interests could soon be in its crosshairs. This threat comes after reports of a nighttime attack allegedly conducted by U.S. and Israeli forces on Bank Sepah in Tehran, an institution with connections to Iran’s military.
Iran has also issued a stark warning to individuals in the Middle East, advising them to maintain a distance of at least one kilometer from these targets, as it threatens to demolish them.
The Islamic Republic’s central military command, quoted in state media, said: ‘Following their failed campaign, the terrorist US army and cruel Zionist regime have targeted one of the country’s banks.
‘With this illegitimate and uncommon action, the enemy is forcing our hand to target economic centers and banks linked to the US and Zionist regime in the region.’
According to Iranian state media, several bank employees were killed in the strike on a bank in northern Tehran
Iran has threatened to target US banks and economic centres in the Middle East as the regime continues to furiously strike the region
The Islamic Republic vowed to unleash a ‘painful response’ on American and Israeli banks after the US hit Iran with the ‘most intense’ day of strikes yet
Iran has continued to pummel Israel and US allies in the Gulf in retaliation for the killing of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Two drones hit Dubai International Airport on Wednesday morning, injuring four people.
Authorities said two Ghanaians and a Bangladeshi national received minor injuries while an Indian citizen was moderately hurt.
The UAE said its air defence systems had detected 1,475 drones sent by Iran since the start of the war twelve days ago.
Meanwhile, fires broke out on three commercial ships in the Strait of Hormuz as Iran continues to choke exports.
Oil shipments have been largely blocked from using the shipping artery as a result of the war.
And Iran said on Tuesday it would not allow ‘one litre of oil’ to be shipped from the Middle East if US and Israeli attacks continue.
Saudi Arabia’s state oil company has warned of ‘catastrophic consequences’ for the world’s oil markets due to its ongoing closure.
Amin Nasser, the CEO of Aramco, said: ‘While we have faced disruptions in the past, this one by far is the biggest crisis the region’s oil and gas industry has faced.’
He admitted that while his firm, the world’s single biggest exporter of oil, was meeting most of its customers’ needs for now, this was only possible by tapping into storage facilities outside the Gulf.
Nasser said that these stores cannot be used for ‘an extended period of time, but for the time being, we are capitalising on it.’
The CEO said: ‘There would be catastrophic consequences for the world’s oil markets, and the longer the disruption goes on … the more drastic the consequences for the global economy.’
An attack on the Thailand-flagged bulk carrier Mayuree Naree from an ‘unknown projectile’, which was reported at 4.35am GMT, happened 11 nautical miles north of Oman and resulted in a fire onboard the ship.
A Thai bulk carrier (pictured) travelling in the crucial Strait of Hormuz was attacked on Wednesday, with 20 crew members rescued so far, the Thai navy said
The UKMTO, a maritime monitor, said crew are evacuating the vessel.
Authorities are searching for three missing crew members from the Mayuree Naree after 20 were rescued by the Omani navy.
No group or military has yet claimed responsibility.
Earlier, the Japan-flagged container ship One Majesty had sustained minor damage from an unknown projectile 25 nautical miles northwest of Ras Al Khaimah in the United Arab Emirates, two maritime security sources said.
A third vessel, a bulk carrier, was also hit by an unknown projectile approximately 50 miles northwest of Dubai, maritime security firms said.
Meanwhile, Donald Trump told Iran to brace for ‘death, fire and fury’ for keeping the Strait of Hormuz shut before threatening its new leader Mojtaba Khamenei.Â
On Monday, Mr Trump said the US had inflicted serious damage on Iran’s military and predicted the conflict would end well before the initial four-week time frame he had laid out, though he has not defined what victory would look like.
The president is under pressure as oil prices spike amid warnings of a global economic crisis.
He warned that US attacks could rise sharply if Iran sought to block tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, which handles one-fifth of the world’s oil ​supply.
‘We will hit them so hard that it will not be possible for them or anybody else helping them to ever recover that section of the world.’
The IRGC said it would not allow any oil to leave the region if attacks from the United States and Israel continue.
‘We are the ones who will determine the end of the war,’ a spokesperson said, describing Trump’s comments as ‘nonsense’, according to state media.
In a later Truth Social post, Trump repeated his warning.
‘If Iran does anything that stops the flow of Oil within the Strait of Hormuz, they will be hit by the United States of America TWENTY TIMES HARDER than they have ​been hit thus far,’ he said.
On Tuesday, US Defence Secretary said Tuesday would be the ‘most intense’ day of attacks.
Pete Hegseth said the US was ‘crushing the enemy’, adding: ‘Today will be yet again, our most intense day of strikes inside Iran. The most fighters, the most bombers, the most strikes. Intelligence more refined, and better than ever.’
Mr Trump had earlier insisted war in the Middle East was ‘pretty much’ over and claimed the operation launched 10 days ago was ‘very far’ ahead of schedule.
The American President even described the massive US and Israeli onslaught as a ‘short-term excursion’ which will be ‘finished pretty quickly’.
But further remarks betrayed Mr Trump’s willingness to keep the war with Iran going, as he added: ‘We’ve already won in many ways but we haven’t won enough…we’re going to go further.’
He said: ‘We could call it a tremendous success right now… or we could go further, and we’re going to go further. We will not relent until the enemy is totally and decisively defeated.’