A senior Iranian lawmaker said Tuesday that energy infrastructure across the region could come under missile attack if the US launches military strikes against Iran, according to remarks carried by Iran's Mehr News Agency.
Hamidreza Haji Babaei, deputy speaker of the Iranian parliament, said any US attack would prompt a forceful response from Tehran.
"If the United States carries out even the smallest military attack against Iran, all energy facilities in the region will come under a barrage of Iranian missiles," said Haji Babaei.
He claimed Washington would lose access to its oil, gas and other interests in the region for years if a conflict erupted.
Haji Babaei also said Iran was not concerned by US military threats, arguing that Washington was reluctant to enter a direct conflict despite recent regional tensions.
The comments came amid heightened tensions following US President Donald Trump's warning that Washington would respond to an Iranian attack that brought down a US military Apache helicopter above the Strait of Hormuz.
Trump said the US "must" respond after the incident, while US Central Command said two crew members were recovered and the cause of the crash remained under investigation.
Separately, an Iranian deputy foreign minister told Al Jazeera that the helicopter had not been intentionally targeted by Iran. The official denied Tehran was behind the attack but said that, given the tense situation in the region, such events could occur unintentionally.
Haji Babaei said the US had crossed many of Iran's red lines during the ceasefire period and argued that Tehran should focus on overcoming economic pressure and sanctions.
He also claimed the current "no war, no peace" situation was not in Iran's interest, but said any hostile action by foreign military aircraft, helicopters or vessels in the region would face a response from Iran's armed forces, including the army and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
