Iran Warns US Navy Of “Heavy Assault” Over Blockade, Israel Airstrikes Target Lebanon
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps warned of a “heavy assault” on American assets in the Gulf region if US actions against Iranian oil tankers and commercial vessels continue, amid escalating tensions in the Strait of Hormuz and renewed conflict across the Middle East. Image courtesy: X.com /@IRGC_NEWSs
Iran, on Saturday (May 9, 2026), warned the US Navy that its military would unleash a “heavy assault” on American assets in the Gulf region if it continued to block oil tankers and commercial vessels entering and exiting its ports.
Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), in a X post, said: “Warning! Any aggression against Iran’s oil tankers and commercial vessels will result in a heavy assault against one of the American centres in the region and the enemy’s ships.”
In a separate post, the IRGC Aerospace Force said its missiles and drones have already been “locked onto American targets in the region”.
“IRGC Aerospace Force missiles and drones have locked onto American targets in the region and the enemy aggressor’s ships. We are awaiting the order to fire,” the post read.
The Iranian warning came amidst heightened military tensions after American forces destroyed Iranian attackers “targeting” three US Navy destroyers as they passed through the Strait of Hormuz last week.
US President Donald Trump confirmed the US Navy destroyers coming under attack, but claimed the warships had “transited very successfully” out of the Strait of Hormuz. Trump claimed the Iranian naval boats were “completely destroyed” in the military confrontation.
Meanwhile, Israel launched airstrikes in southern Lebanon that Beirut claimed killed at least two dozen people, including a civil defence rescuer, despite a Gulf War ceasefire since April 17.
Lebanon’s health ministry said the Israeli air strike killed four people, including two women, and injured eight others in the town of Toura in the Tyre district on Friday (May 8). The air raids also hit the districts of Nabatieh, Bint Jbeil, and Sidon, among others.
An Israeli army drone also targeted a car on the road connecting Kfarchuba and Kfarhamam in the Hasbaya district, killing a civil defence member, the General Directorate of Civil Defence said.
Israel Army’s spokesperson Avichay Adraee said residents of the towns and villages of Nmairiyeh, Tayr Felsay, Hallousiyyeh, Upper Hallousiyyeh, Toura, and Maarakeh were asked to leave as it issued new forced evacuation orders for southern Lebanon.
