World’s tourist attractions and resorts ‘not safe’ for enemies, Iran warns
Iran has warned that tourist attractions, resorts and entertainment centres are ‘not safe’ for US and Israeli officials.
The Iranian Army said in a statement shared today by the state-controlled Fars news agency that it is ‘keeping an eye’ on the ‘cowardly’ soldiers.
A senior spokesperson said that while Tehran’s officials and authorities live with the people, America and Israel’s ‘hide in underground bunkers’ and ‘use the people as a human shield’.
They added: ‘We are monitoring your cowardly officials and commanders, your treacherous pilots and soldiers, and with our resolve, while continuing our powerful and crushing past attacks against you, the time will not be long until we drag you out of your hiding places and shelters in disgrace and humiliation to punish you for your heinous actions.
‘From now on, based on the information we have on you, no place in the world will be safe for you, not even amusement parks, recreational centres, and tourist resorts.’
The war erupted in late February after the US and Israel launched a punishing military campaign that killed Iran’s supreme leader, Ali Khamenei.
Iran has remained defiant in the following three weeks in the face of a war that has so far killed more than 3,100 people across the Middle East.
Of them, around 1,300 were civilians, including at least 210 children, according to the US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency.
The realm’s new leader and Khamenei’s son, Mojtaba Khamenei, said last week that he plans to avenge the death of his father and other Iranians.
The army spokesperson said of this: ‘The assassination of the country’s officials and some commanders of the Islamic Republic of Iran’s armed forces is not a sign of the enemy’s power; rather, it stems from their desperation, helplessness, and malice.’
While the war is not a global one, it has had worldwide ramifications. An energy crisis has gripped the US, UK and other countries as Iran has prevented oil tankers from moving through the Strait of Hormuz.
The tight waterway sits on Iran’s southern coast and sees a fifth of the world’s oil flow through it.
With no ships able to make the Gulf journey, oil prices edged higher to $111 (£83) a barrel today.
When the war will end – or even its end goal – is unclear, according to analysts.
US President Donald Trump told Americans, wary of spiralling prices at the pump, yesterday that the war will be ‘over with pretty soon’.
The ‘only thing left’ to do, he added, is to open the Hormuz.
American warplanes are launching attacks today in a bid to clear out Iranian drones and naval vessels.
At least 968 people have been killed in Israeli strikes since March 2, according to Lebanese authorities.
Iraqi officials said 60 people, mainly members of the Shi’ite Popular Mobilisation Forces, have been killed.
In Israel, 15 civilians have died, according to its emergency services. Thirteen US service members have been killed.
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