ISTANBUL

Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) on Sunday threatened “more devastating” attacks on US economic interests in the region if Iranian civilian facilities are attacked again.

The force said in a statement carried by the state news agency IRNA that Iranian attacks on gas and petrochemicals plants in the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and Bahrain were in retaliation for US-Israeli strikes on civilian facilities in Iran, including a bridge in the central city of Karaj and petrochemical facility in Mahshahr.

"Today’s attacks were only the first phase, and any future attacks on civilian infrastructure will provoke an even stronger and wider response,”it added.

“If the attack on civilian targets is repeated, the second phase of this operation will be much more devastating and widespread, and their losses and damage will be doubled if they insist on this approach.”

Regional tensions have escalated since the US and Israel launched a joint offensive on Iran on Feb. 28, killing more than 1,340 people to date, including then-Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.

Tehran has retaliated with drone and missile strikes targeting Israel, as well as Jordan, Iraq, and Gulf countries hosting US military assets. Iran has also restricted the movement of ships through the Strait of Hormuz.