In a statement released on Tuesday, the IRGC said facilities associated with companies including Sadara, ExxonMobil and Dow Chemical were targeted. It added that a large petrochemical complex operated by Chevron Phillips Chemical in Ju’aymah, Saudi Arabia, was also hit by medium-range missiles and suicide drones, News.Az reports, citing Iran's English-language Press TV.
The IRGC further claimed that an Israeli-linked container ship was struck in a combined intelligence and missile operation as it attempted to use the port of Khor Fakkan in the United Arab Emirates to transport military equipment overland to Israel without passing through the Strait of Hormuz.
“The destruction of this ship serves as a stark warning to any vessels attempting to cooperate with the Zionist regime and the United States in any capacity,” the statement said.
Iranian forces also targeted the position of a US aircraft carrier strike group, identified as CVN-72, deep in the Indian Ocean using long-range naval cruise missiles, the statement added.
“The foolish leaders of America, who have placed all their interests at the feet of the Zionists, do not even possess the ability to calculate which of their critical assets are within the reach of our forces in retaliation for attacks on our infrastructure,” it said.
The IRGC warned that any crossing of what it described as “red lines” by US forces would trigger a response “beyond the region”.
“We have not initiated attacks on civilian targets and will not do so; however, we will not hesitate to respond in kind to aggression against civilian facilities,” the statement said.
It also warned that Iranian forces could target the infrastructure of the United States and its partners in a way that would deprive them of the region’s oil and gas resources for years.
“The regional partners of America must also understand that, until now, out of good neighbourliness, we have exercised restraint in selecting targets. From this point onward, such considerations no longer apply,” the IRGC said.
The statement came as US President Donald Trump threatened on Tuesday to target Iranian power plants and bridges.
According to the IRGC, the operation was carried out by its naval and aerospace forces from early morning and was dedicated to what it described as Jewish and Christian “martyrs of imposed wars”. It said the strikes were launched in response to attacks on Iran’s energy infrastructure, including facilities in Asaluyeh.
During the operation, Iranian forces also targeted US bases and interests in the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz, as well as military sites and command centres in the occupied Palestinian territories, using ballistic and cruise missiles alongside suicide drones, the statement said.
