TEHRAN, April 29 (Xinhua) -- Iran will respond severely if the U.S. vessels violate Iran's territorial waters while passing through the waterway, a spokesman for the Iranian Armed Forces was quoted as saying by Tasnim news agency on Wednesday.
Abolfazl Shekarchi criticized the United States for what he called "causing disturbance" in the Gulf.
Shekarchi also dismissed U.S. President Donald Trump's recent threats as "psychological warfare" with the purpose of attracting public attention ahead of the U.S. presidential election.
Last week, Trump said that he had ordered the U.S. navy to fire upon Iranian "gunboats" that "harass" U.S. ships in the Gulf.
"The Americans must have seen that if they take the smallest act of aggression against the Islamic Republic's territorial waters or the interests of our people, they would receive a slap harder than before," Shekarchi was quoted as saying.
Earlier, Iran's Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) called for full withdrawal of all U.S. forces from the West Asia after naval disputes erupted between both sides in the Gulf. Enditem
