NEW YORK, June 26. /TASS/. Tehran may strike US military bases and ships in the Persian Gulf and close the Strait of Hormuz if Israel violates the ceasefire, The New York Times reported.
According to the newspaper, Tehran agreed to establish a ceasefire with Tel Aviv only because it was confident that it would hold its ground in the face of possible new strikes by the US and Israel. Despite the threats of new attacks, the country will not change its foreign policy, the newspaper noted. In its opinion, the Iranian regime has come to the conclusion "that it can endure wartime economic hardship and that the population will rally to the flag and direct its anger at foreign attackers."
The New York Times pointed out that Iran has been preparing for direct military conflict with the US for decades: the location of the Iranian uranium enrichment site in Fordow deep underground "may have spared the facility from total destruction by US bunker-busting bombs." Earlier, US President Donald Trump said that Iranian nuclear facilities had been completely destroyed by US strikes. In turn, Iran said that the damage was insignificant.
In the early morning hours of June 13, Israel launched a military operation against Iran. Less than 24 hours later, Iran retaliated. Nine days later, on the morning of June 22, US jets attacked three Iranian nuclear facilities, entering the conflict. The following evening, Tehran launched a missile strike on Al Udeid, the largest US military airbase in the region, located in Qatar. According to the US authorities, there were no casualties or significant damage.
On June 24, Trump announced that Israel and Iran had agreed to a complete ceasefire. The Israeli authorities confirmed that they had accepted the US proposal and announced that they had completed all objectives in their operation against Iran. In turn, Tehran said that it had achieved a victory over Tel Aviv by forcing it to unilaterally halt its aggression. The ceasefire has been in effect since June 24.