TEHRAN (AFP) — Iran on Monday threatened to deploy “naval mines” in the Gulf if the United States and Israel were to attack any of its coasts or islands.
“Any attempt by the enemy to attack Iranian coasts or islands will naturally, and in accordance with established military practice, lead to all access routes and communication lines in the Persian Gulf and coastal areas being mined with various types of naval mines, including drifting mines deployable from the coasts,” said the country’s defense council in a statement carried by state media.
The defense council — which operates under the Supreme National Security Council — was formed after Iran’s 12-day war with Israel in June 2025.
Iran also has laid out maps of power plants it threatened to target in the region, in response to US President Donald Trump’s ultimatum for the Islamic republic to reopen the vital Strait of Hormuz.
Trump threatened to “obliterate” Iran’s power plants if it did not reopen the strategic waterway within 48 hours, which were due to end late Monday. The waterway has remained effectively closed since the start of the war.
Iran’s armed forces have since vowed to “completely” close the strait and target power plants in Israel, as well as in countries in the Gulf which Iran says support US bases in the area.
State media, including the judiciary’s Mizan Online website, on Monday showed infographics of potential targets in Israel, including Orot Rabin and Rutenberg, Israel’s two largest power plants.
Another infographic on Mehr news agency was titled “Say goodbye to electricity!” and showed possible targets in Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Kuwait.
“In the event of the slightest attack on the electricity infrastructure of the Islamic republic, the entire region will be plunged into darkness,” the graphic said.
Iran’s powerful parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf meanwhile vowed to “irreversibly” destroy vital infrastructure across the region if the US and Israel attacked its own.