Iran to completely close Hormuz if Trump executes threats on Iranian energy, says IRGC

TEHRAN (Reuters) - Iran will completely shut the strategic Strait of Hormuz if US President Trump executes threats to target Iranian energy facilities, the country's Revolutionary Guards said in a statement on Sunday.

Trump on Saturday threatened to "obliterate" Iran's power plants if Tehran did not fully reopen the Strait of Hormuz within 48-hours, suggesting a significant escalation barely a day after he talked about "winding down" the war, now in its fourth week.

In their Sunday statement Iran's Revolutionary Guards also said companies with US shares will be 'completely destroyed', if Iranian energy facilities were targeted by Washington and energy facilities in countries that host US bases will be 'lawful' targets.

Iran warned it would target US infrastructure, including energy facilities in the Gulf, if Trump carried out his threat, which he made as US Marines and heavy landing craft continue to head to the region.

More than 2,000 people have been killed during the war the US and Israel launched on February 28, which has upended markets, spiked fuel costs, fuelled global inflation fears and convulsed the postwar Western alliance.

IRAN ⁠EXPANDS RISKS WITH LONG-RANGE MISSILES

Tehran fired long-range missiles for the first time on Saturday, expanding the risk of attacks beyond the Middle East, while an Iranian strike landed near Israel's secretive nuclear reactor about 13 km (8 miles) southeast of Dimona.

Also Read: Trump gives Iran 48-hour deadline to open Strait of Hormuz

Iran launched two ballistic missiles with a range of 4,000 km (2,500 miles) at theUS-British military base at Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean, said Israeli military chief Eyal Zamir.

"These missiles are not intended to strike Israel. Their range reaches European capitals - Berlin, Paris, and Rome are all within direct threat ⁠range," Zamir said in a statement.

The Israeli military said on Sunday it was striking Tehran just hours after Iran's attacks on southern Israel.

Trump and his administration have sent mixed messages about US goals throughout the war, leaving allies struggling to respond.

He has accused NATO allies of cowardice over their reluctance to help open the Strait of Hormuz.

Some allies have said they would consider it but most say they are reluctant to join a war that Trump started without consulting them.

The war has become a major political liability for Trump ahead of November mid-term elections for the Congress, with energy price shocks fuelling US inflation and hitting consumers and businesses hard.

'TICKING TIME BOMB' FOR MARKETS

"President Trump’s threat has now placed a 48-hour ticking time bomb of elevated uncertainty over markets. If the ultimatum is not walked back, we will likely see a Black Monday reopening of global equity markets in free fall and oil prices spiking significantly higher," said IG market analyst Tony Sycamore.

Tehran would likely target Gulf energy facilities in Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and ⁠Qatar, which "would deepen and prolong the pain of higher energy prices and drag the conflict into a broader regional crisis", Sycamore said.

Oil prices jumped on Friday and settled at their highest in nearly four years, after Iraq declared force majeure on all oilfields developed by foreign firms, Israel attacked a major gas field in Iran and Tehran responded with strikes on neighbours, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Kuwait.

Iranian attacks have effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz, a narrow choke point that carries around a fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas supplies, causing the worst oil crisis since the 1970s.

Its near-closure sent European gas prices surging as much as 35% last week.

Iran's Khatam al-Anbiya military command headquarters said if the US attacked Iran's fuel and energy infrastructure, Iran would target all US energy, information technology and desalination infrastructure in the region.