Iran vows to fight for Strait of Hormuz until ‘last breath’ as it retaliates for US strikes (PHOTOS, VIDEO) (As it happened)

The Iranian Foreign Ministry has condemned as “unjustified” and “irresponsible” Britain’s decision on Monday to designate the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps a terrorist organization and a security threat.

It called the move by London “a despicable and provocative act” that violates international law and the UN charter.

The IRGC is an integral part of Iran’s military, which is tasked with defending the country’s territorial integrity, national sovereignty and security, the ministry stressed.

FILE PHOTO: Members of Iran's Islamic Revolution Guards Corps marching during a parade in Tehran. © Getty Images / Kaveh Kazemi

The European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) has recommended carriers to avoid the airspace above Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar and the UAE as well as above the Gulf of Oman amid the continued exchange of strikes between the US and Iran. The advisory remains valid until at least July 29, the agency said.

“Unpredictable military developments, combined with the possible use of missiles, drones, combat aircraft and air-defence systems, create a high risk to civil flights at all altitudes and flight levels within the concerned airspace,” the statement by EASA read.

The Iranian media has reported new explosions in several parts of the country amid continued escalation between Washington and Tehran.

Four locations were hit by US missiles in southwestern Bushehr Province, which hosts a nuclear power plant of the same name, IRNA news agency has said.

At least five blasts were heard near the southern city of Bandar Abbas, according to state TV.

Fars news agency also reported attacks on the city of Abadan and the port of Mahshahr in an area of Iran bordering Iraq and Kuwait.

Beijing believes that “a proper settlement” is needed to end the dispute over transit through the Strait of Hormuz between the US and Iran, the Chinese Foreign Ministry’s spokesman, Lin Jian, has said.

The waterway is intended “for international navigation. Resuming safe and free passage in the strait at an early date serves the interests of all sides,” he argued.

“China stands ready to maintain communication on this with relevant countries and the international community,” Lin stressed.

Chinese Foreign Ministry’s spokesman, Lin Jian, talking to journalists during a briefing. ©  Johannes Neudecker

The Strait of Hormuz “will never be reopened through war, aggression or American acts of hostility,” Iranian military spokesman Brig. Gen. Mohammad Akraminia has insisted.

The Iranian servicemen will stand firm “until their last breath” and would not yield “even an inch” of the country’s rights in the key waterway, he vowed, as cited by Tasnim news agency.

“The only way to reopen the Strait of Hormuz is for the United States to respect the rights of the Iranian nation and comply with the provisions of the memorandum of understanding (MoU),” Akraminia said.

Any American violations of the MoU “will be met with a decisive response from Iran,” he said.

The continued exchanges of strikes between the US and Iran indicate that “trust is gone” between the sides, former Austrian Foreign Minister Karin Kneissl, who now heads the G.O.R.K.I. Center at St. Petersburg University, has told RT.

“From an Iranian perspective, it’s difficult to understand what the US really wants in all of that,” he said.

Kneissl said that she believes that for Donald Trump “it’s all about the Strait of Hormuz… because he doesn’t want to see the oil prices go through the roof.”

“It’s not about the nuclear enrichment program. This is the Israeli agenda,” she said.

Iran has shipped 80 million barrels of oil over the past 26 days, with millions more awaiting departure, TankerTrackers, a maritime traffic monitor, has said.

The Bahraini air defenses have foiled several Iranian attacks this morning, the Gulf state’s military has said in a statement.

“Iran continues its systematic aggression through its heinous attacks targeting civilians in the Kingdom of Bahrain,” the statement read.

Tehran said earlier that its strikes, which were launched in response to the US bombardment, targeted American military bases in Bahrain, Kuwait and Jordan.

A tanker was reportedly hit by a missile while traveling southeast of Oman’s Limah area, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) has said. “Authorities are investigating,” it added.

New Delhi has summoned Iran’s deputy ambassador after an Indian crew member was killed and eight others, including six Indians, sustained injuries in an Iranian strike on two Emirati super tankers in the Strait of Hormuz on Monday.

The Indian Foreign Ministry said that it had lodged a protest with Mohammad Javad Hosseini against attacks on ships passing through the waterway close to Oman’s shores.

Tehran maintains that it targets vessels because they are traversing the strait via a shipping lane which was “illegally designated” by Washington, instead of taking the route mapped out by Iran.