- Iran's IRGC warns US faces military conflict or compromised diplomatic deal
- Tehran demands end to US blockade of Iranian ports, deadline unspecified
- IRGC notes shifting tone from China, Russia, and Europe on US actions
Iran's powerful Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has sharpened its rhetoric against the US, warning that Washington faces a binary choice between a costly military confrontation and a compromised diplomatic outcome, Al-Jazeera reported.
Citing a statement of state television, Al-Jazeera reported that the IRGC's intelligence unit said “the room for US decision-making has narrowed,” adding that Tehran has set a deadline for the US military to end what it described as a blockade of Iranian ports, though no timeline was specified.
“There is only one way to read this: Donald Trump must choose between an impossible military operation or a bad deal with the Islamic Republic of Iran,” the statement said.
It also pointed to what it called a shift in tone from China, Russia and Europe, suggesting growing international pressure on Washington.
Separately, Mohsen Rezaee, a former IRGC commander and current secretary of Iran's Expediency Council, escalated the warning, likening US naval forces in the Strait of Hormuz to “pirates.”
“The U.S. is the only pirate in the world that possesses aircraft carriers. Our ability to confront pirates is no less than our ability to sink warships,” Rezaee said in a statement on X.
He further issued a direct threat, saying, “Prepare to face a graveyard of your carriers and forces,” referencing what he claimed was the wreckage of a US F-15E aircraft downed near Isfahan last month.
The latest statements mark a further escalation in tensions around the Strait of Hormuz, a critical global oil transit chokepoint, as geopolitical risks continue to weigh on energy markets and regional stability.
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