Tehran, Aug 1: Iran has prepared an “extensive” plan for responding to potential attacks on Iranian infrastructure, the country’s semi-official Tasnim news agency reported Saturday.

Tasnim cited a senior security official as saying that Iran has prepared an “extensive” plan in response to US media’s recent claims about possible US and Israeli strikes against its infrastructure. The plan involves targeting vital Israeli infrastructure and US energy infrastructure in the West Asia region.

The Wall Street Journal on Friday cited US officials as saying that President Donald Trump “has ordered the military to launch a fresh attack on Iran that could begin as soon as this weekend and last a few days.”

Also, CBS News reported on Friday that the United States and Israel are preparing for intense strikes against Iranian energy infrastructure, which could begin during the weekend, Xinhua news agency reported.

Secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council Mohammad Baqer Zolqadr warned early Saturday in a message carried by Iranian media that the US continuation of its naval blockade and warmongering against Iran will only “further tighten the lock on the Strait of Hormuz” and lead to the closure of other straits.

He added that the global economy and energy market, as well as American voters, will be the ones to pay the price.

Meanwhile, Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi has warned Britain against any military cooperation with the United States in carrying out strikes on Iran.

Araghchi made the remarks during a phone call with British Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband late Friday, stressing that any cooperation with “aggressors,” including under the pretext of existing defence agreements, would be “unacceptable,” according to a statement issued by the Iranian Foreign Ministry on Saturday.

Araghchi criticised what he described as the British government’s “unjustified and inappropriate” policies toward Iran, citing London’s recent designation of Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guard Corps (IRGC) as a national security threat and its “complicity” in two wars imposed by the United States and Israel against Iran in recent months. He called on Britain to reconsider its approach toward Tehran.

He said that under international law and the Convention for the Definition of Aggression, allowing a country’s territory and facilities to be used for illegal attacks against another state constitutes an act of aggression and gives the attacked country the right to self-defence.

Araghchi said Iran had entered a diplomatic process with the United States in good faith and signed a memorandum of understanding with Washington in June aimed at ending the conflict, but Washington failed to honour its commitments, Xinhua news agency reported.

He also highlighted Iran’s efforts to establish operational mechanisms with Oman to manage shipping traffic in the Strait of Hormuz, warning that third-party interference would only further complicate matters.

For his part, Miliband said his country was not involved in the war against Iran and maintained that diplomacy was the way to resolve disputes.

Last month, British Prime Minister Andy Burnham approved the continued US use of British military bases for operations related to Iran, maintaining a policy established by his predecessor.

On February 28, the United States and Israel launched joint attacks on Tehran and other Iranian cities, killing Iran’s then-Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, senior military commanders and civilians. Iran responded with waves of missile and drone attacks on US and Israeli bases and assets in the region, while tightening control over the Strait of Hormuz.

Tokyo, Aug 1: An earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 5.8 struck off Aomori Prefecture in northern Japan on Saturday, the country’s weather agency said.

The temblor occurred at 11:48 a.m. local time off Aomori’s Pacific coast at a depth of 80 km, measuring 4 on Japan’s seismic scale of 7, said the Japan Meteorological Agency.

The quake’s epicentre was located at a latitude of 41.3 degrees north and a longitude of 142.0 degrees east, reports Xinhua news agency.

No tsunami advisory was issued.

This comes close on the heels of another powerful earthquake that struck Kumamoto Prefecture at around 4:27 p.m. local time Tuesday, registering an intensity of 7, the highest on the Japanese seismic scale, in the hardest-hit areas, causing widespread damage across the prefecture.

Earlier on Friday, the prefectural government announced that the death toll from a powerful earthquake has risen to 35.

At a disaster response headquarters meeting held Friday morning, Kumamoto Prefecture Government officials announced that 35 people had died, including those whose deaths are still being investigated to determine whether they were caused by the strong tremor.

Meanwhile, travelling from Yatsushiro to Uki, another city severely affected by the disaster, Xinhua reporters observed buckled and cracked roads, malfunctioning traffic signals and long queues at gas stations. Many people waiting for fuel said they intended to spend the night in their vehicles.

In the Ogawa district in Uki City, a civic activity centre had been converted into an evacuation shelter after the earthquake, where nearly 500 evacuees, many of them elderly people and children, were staying.

Families sat on the floor surrounded by backpacks, clothing and bottled water. Some leaned against walls to rest, while others laid out sleeping mats in preparation for the night. More than a dozen portable toilets had been installed outside.

Tehran, July 31: The Iranian army said it launched drone strikes against US facilities and assets at Sheikh Isa Air Base in southern Bahrain.

In a statement published on its website, the army said the strikes targeted the US military’s power generators, navigation systems, and office and backup buildings at the base on Thursday, Xinhua news agency reported..

Earlier in the day, Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guard Corps said it had launched attacks against US assets at Ali Al Salem Air Base in Kuwait and Al-Azraq Air Base in Jordan, in response to fresh US strikes against Iran on Wednesday night.

The latest clashes came after days of pause in hostilities between the United States and Iran.

Before the pause, the United States had launched multiple waves of strikes against Iranian targets, saying they were in response to Iranian attacks on vessels in the Strait of Hormuz and aimed at “degrading Iran’s ability to threaten commercial shipping.” Iran had responded with missile and drone attacks targeting US military bases and facilities across the region.

Earlier Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi on Thursday urged Bulgaria and Cyprus not to allow the United States to use military bases on their territories for attacks against Iran, according to ministry statements.

In a phone call with Bulgarian Foreign Minister Velislava Petrova, Araghchi said Bulgaria’s parliamentary approval of US tanker aircraft deployment at Bezmer Air Base to support “aggressive operations against Iran” violates international law and friendly bilateral ties.

He cited UN General Assembly Resolution 3314, which considers making territory available for aggression against a third state as an act of aggression.

Petrova said Bulgaria has no intention of participating in war against Iran, and supports diplomacy to reduce regional tensions.

In a separate call with Cypriot Foreign Minister Constantinos Kombos, Araghchi stressed the need to prevent “abuse” of foreign bases in Cyprus for “aggression” against Iran.

Kombos said Cyprus has contacted Britain to ensure that British bases on Cypriot territory would not be used against any country.