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On August 26th, 2006, Iran launched missiles in the Persian Gulf. (data picture)
The Strait of Hormuz.
Mohammad Ali Jaafari, Commander-in-Chief of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps.
Iranian media quoted Jaafari, commander-in-chief of the Revolutionary Guard Corps, as saying on 28th that if Iran is attacked, the Revolutionary Guard Corps will control the Strait of Hormuz, a crude oil transportation channel in the Gulf region. Jaafari said: "If we confront enemies from outside the region, the scope of confrontation will definitely involve the oil field. After Iran controls the oil pipeline, oil prices will rise sharply, which is one of the factors that deter the enemy. "
According to Xinhua News Agency, Mohammad Ali Jaafari, commander-in-chief of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps, warned that Iran would block the oil transportation routes in the Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz in case of military attack. Jaafari said that the Israeli air force is incapable of destroying Iran’s nuclear facilities. However, a former senior official of the Israeli Air Force said on the same day that the Israeli Air Force can launch air strikes at any time to destroy Iran’s nuclear facilities.
Use oil as a weapon
Jama Jam newspaper published an exclusive interview with Jaafari on the 28th. Jaafari said that Iran will use all means to fight the enemy, including blocking the oil passage.
"After being invaded, all countries will use all means to fight back," Jaafari said. "If Iran is attacked, of course we will block the Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz."
He hinted that Iran will use oil as a weapon to fight against foreign enemies. Jaafari said: "If we are forced to confront the enemy from outside this region, it is bound to involve oil … oil prices will soar, which is one of the important means to deter the enemy."
The Strait of Hormuz, located between Iran and Arabian Peninsula, is an important offshore oil channel, and its oil transportation volume accounts for about 40% of the global oil trading volume.
Recently, western media have predicted that Israel will launch an air strike against Iran.
The New York Times reported on the 20th that the Israeli Air Force held a large-scale military exercise in the Mediterranean in early June to conduct air strikes against Iranian nuclear facilities. Bolton, a former U.S. representative to the United Nations, said this week that Israel may air strike Iran before the next U.S. president takes office.
Long-range missile retaliation
Jaafari hinted in an exclusive interview that if the air force attacks Iran, Iran will launch long-range missiles against Israel. He believes that the Israeli air force cannot block Iran’s nuclear program because Iran has mastered advanced nuclear technology.
"The enemy tried to attack Iran’s nuclear facilities and prevent us from carrying out the nuclear program," Jaafari said. "But the attack can only cause the nuclear program to stop temporarily."
He warned that Israel was "completely within the range of Iran’s long-range missiles" and that Israel was unable to deal with Iranian missile strikes.
Jaafari said that "some of Iran’s allies" will also retaliate against Israel, but he did not specify. Israel’s Ha ‘aretz believes that Jaafari refers to organizations such as Hezbollah in Lebanon.
Jaafari warned Iran’s neighbors not to allow other countries to use their territory to attack Iran, otherwise Iran has the right to take military action against these countries.
Kuwait and Iraq said that they would not allow the United States to use their territory to launch an attack on Iran. In addition to Kuwait and Iraq, the United States also has military bases in Qatar and other countries.
Jaafari said that in fact, the United States has troops in the Gulf region, so it is "more vulnerable to attack" than Israel. In addition, Jaafari said that Iran can use a variety of means to attack the United States’ goal of staying away from the region.
Previous general debates
The retired general of the Israeli Air Force, Issac bin-Israel, said that Israel does not rule out the use of force to attack Iran, and at the same time, the air force has the ability to destroy Iran’s nuclear facilities.
Israel said on the 28th: "If necessary, we will launch a military strike (against Iran). We may do this at any time. " Israel is a member of the ruling Kadima Party in Israel. In the 1980s, Ben Israel participated in the air raid on a nuclear reactor in Iraq.
On June 7, 1981, Israel dispatched 16 F-16 fighter planes, and after a long-distance raid, it destroyed the Ausilla nuclear reactor in Iraq.
Ben-Israel said that Israel hopes to solve the Iranian nuclear issue through diplomatic means, but at the same time it is prepared to use military means to destroy Iran’s nuclear facilities.
He said that the Israeli air force held a large-scale exercise in the Mediterranean, which was intended to prepare for air strikes against Iran’s nuclear facilities. "This is not the first similar exercise, nor is it the last."
Editor: Li Erqing