Iran Threatens US Bases Over Hormuz Escorts as Trump Calls Ship-Strike Claims ‘Fake’

Iran’s Revolutionary Guards on Thursday warned they could strike American bases across the Middle East if the U.S. military keeps escorting ships through the Strait of Hormuz, while claiming seven vessels were hit.

“The US military must know that if this trend continues, the conflict will extend to its bases in the region,” the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said on its Sepah News website, AFP reported. “This is a serious warning.”

The IRGC navy said four vessels it accused of illegal oil transfers in the northern Persian Gulf were hit simultaneously and caught fire, and that three more struck mines west of the strait, Reuters reported.

The claims could not be independently verified, and Iran gave no details on casualties or the ships’ flags, Al Jazeera reported. If accurate, it would be the largest single-day toll in the waterway since the war began Feb. 28.

President Trump rejected Tehran’s account. “Iran is doing everything they can to drive up the price of oil prior to the US Midterm Election,” he wrote on Truth Social.

“They are making up fake hits, mines, and everything else because more oil is coming through the Hormuz Strait now than it did even prior to the beginning of the conflict,” Trump added.

A U.S. Central Command spokesperson, speaking anonymously to Al Jazeera, called Iran’s mine claims incorrect and said U.S. forces have cleared the international shipping lanes of mines. Iran is instead using missiles and drones, the spokesperson said.

The spokesperson said the strait remains open, with 95 percent of vessels getting through, and described the attacks as a sign of Tehran’s “desperation” under the U.S. naval blockade of Iranian ports.

Iran claims control of Hormuz, through which about one-fifth of the world’s oil passed before the war. The U.S. military has been escorting ships through the waterway in growing numbers, and Iran has responded by stepping up attacks, AFP reported.

The strait is only about 30 kilometers, or roughly 19 miles, wide at its narrowest point. Washington’s blockade aims to squeeze Iran’s economy, while negotiations to end the conflict remain deadlocked.

Reporting from Tehran, Al Jazeera’s Mohamed Vall said there is talk in Tehran of an imminent escalation, with Iranians expecting a U.S. attack before the midterms. “The IRGC army chief has boasted that Iran is more ready than anytime before,” Vall said.

The standoff also carries political stakes at home. Al Jazeera White House correspondent Kimberly Halkett cited “real frustration over the rising cost for everyday Americans, given the rising fuel prices” tied to the conflict.

“The pressure is on the president, and it’s not just from the opposition party,” Halkett said. “It is also from within the Republican Party as well.”

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