DUBAI, March 19 (Reuters) – Iran’s foreign minister called for vigilance and regional coordination in separate phone calls with his counterparts from Turkey, Egypt and Pakistan, state media reported on Thursday, as the military warned of a harsher response to any further attacks on its energy infrastructure.
Iran retaliated against what it said were U.S.-linked energy facilities in the Gulf state, including Qatar’s Ras Laffan Industrial City, the world’s largest liquefied natural gas complex, after Wednesday’s attacks on energy facilities in the South Pars gas field and Asaluyeh.
“In a phone call to his foreign counterparts, Araqchi assessed attacks on Iranian infrastructure by the United States and the Zionist regime (Israel) as actions aimed at exacerbating tensions and destabilizing the region, and urged regional countries to remain vigilant and coordinate in response to these threats,” state media reported on Thursday.
A spokesman for the Unified Command of the Iranian Armed Forces said that recent attacks on the country’s energy infrastructure have led to “a new phase in the war”, with Iran targeting energy facilities linked to the United States and American investors in the region.
“If an attack[on Iran’s energy infrastructure]happens again, further attacks on your and your allies’ energy infrastructure will not stop until it is completely destroyed, and our response will be even more severe,” Ebrahim Zolfaqari said, according to state media.
(Reporting by Dubai Newsroom; Editing by Alison Williams, Alexandra Hudson)
