Iran targets US Asset in Bahrain: Revolutionary guard says it destroyed radar system

Thank you for joining us. Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps says it's destroyed an American military early warning radar system. The facility was in Bahrain. The IRGC says the strike was in retaliation for an attack on a telecoms tower in Sirik, near the Strait of Hormuz. It's warned the U.S. to stop what it calls aerial aggression and the smuggling of oil through The IRGC has released footage of what it says is a tanker that exploded in the Strait of Hormuz after hitting a naval mine. The vessel was reportedly carrying liquefied natural gas. The IRGC says it was using an unauthorized route to transit the waterway. The morale of the crews of the world's greatest military powers aircraft carriers has collapsed. They do not dare approach Iran's maritime borders and are keeping hundreds of kilometers away. U.S. bases in the region have been targeted by our fighters and we see both at sea and on land. They are fearful of the movement of our fighters. Let's bring in Al Jazeera's Rizal Sadar in Tehran. So, Rizal, two serious incidents, one in Bahrain and one in the Strait of Hormuz in the last few hours. What more do we know? Indeed. So last time that Iran has targeted an American military asset in a regional country was in early September. Since then, we have seen tensions rising. However, Iran was not firing missiles to any regional country, but now this is the first since in early September. And now so the statement that was released by the IRGC follows the same structure and the pattern Thank you. of the previous war when they were targeting the American assets and some of the other civilian infrastructure across the region. So the statement saying that the strike was a response and the United States last night they have targeted a telecommunications mast in Sirik. So this telecommunication mast, or the centers are quite important for Iran in terms of tracking the vessels across the Gulf and also the military movements across the region. And the United States is constantly targeting these telecommunication centers. So now Iranians are saying that in response they have hit an early warning radar system that belongs to the United States based in Bahrain. So, in the continuation of the statement, it It says that this is a warning to the United States and also it's saying that if the United States does not cease its attacks on Iran or if it still smuggles the oil through the Strait of Hormuz, then Iran is going to engage without limits. So we see two conditions here, not only that America ceases or This stops its attack on Iran, but also Iranians are saying that if the United States still let the vessels to pass through the Strait of Hormuz without Iranian authorization or without the coordination with Iranian authorities, Iran is going to engage further. So based on that, we're seeing that an LPG Carrier according to the statement, another statement released by the IRGC is that it caught on fire after striking a mine. And Iranians are saying the reason for that is because that vessel has ignored the warnings and was not coordinating its passage with the Iranian authorities. On the diplomatic front briefly, Rassoul, are we seeing any movement? Has Iran's position evolved at all? Well, there are progress confirmed by both sides, however, not significant steps being taken. So Iranians here are saying that for further diplomatic engagement, they are waiting the Washington's response to Tehran's seven conditions. And Iranians are saying that if the United States does not accept and implement that seven conditions, Tehran is not going to engage in further diplomatic processes However here One thing is quite critical for me, so Iranians, while saying that they are still waiting for Washington's response, they're also saying that this status quo of no war, no agreement, is not going to continue forever. And we have just heard from the Speaker of the Parliament Mohammad Bakr Kalibaf in an exclusive interview with Al Jazeera saying that they are determined to break this status quo and not necessarily through diplomatic engagement but also through sustainable deterrence and increasingly we are seeing the statements and officials making remarks about that Iran might take the pre-emptive action So in that sense, the energy, what we can see is being accumulated here because now practically there is a naval blockade over the Strait of Hormuz and now the United States saying that the ground routes and also the trade routes through the Caspian Sea also are going to be targeted by the United States, which means an entire blockade over Iran. And Iran is saying that this is not going to be accepted by Tehran. Thank you, Rassoul, for the update. Rassoul Siddhar, live for us there in Tehran.