Tehran’s top security official has warned the US president to be careful, after threats to hit the Islamic Republic “twenty times harder”

Iran’s top security official has dismissed US President Donald Trump’s threats after he vowed to strike Iran “twenty times harder” if it continues to threaten the strategic Strait of Hormuz in retaliation for the US-Israeli attacks.

Trump also warned Tehran of military consequences “at a level never seen before,” after media reports alleged that Iran has begun placing naval mines in the Strait of Hormuz. The Pentagon has subsequently reported the destruction of dozens of vessels, including 16 alleged minelayers.

Iranian National Security Council Secretary Ali Larijani branded Trump’s threats “empty,” writing on Telegram: “Even those greater than you could not eliminate the Iranian nation. Be careful not to be eliminated!”

Russian President Vladimir Putin, who held a phone call with Trump on Monday, said the escalating conflict risks entirely choking off the region’s oil exports through the now “de-facto closed” Strait of Hormuz. RT has assessed the impact of $100 oil, and the subsequent rise in Urals oil, for Russia.

READ MORE: Urals tops Brent: Will the US-Israeli war on Iran make Russia richer?

• The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has reportedly promised full freedom of passage to ships from any Arab or European country that expels US and Israeli ambassadors.

• The price of Russian Urals oil has surged to a premium over Brent, which which peaked at over $120 on Monday. Trump has dismissed the spike as “a very small price to pay” for the war against Iran.

• The US-Israeli attacks have have killed at least 1,332 civilians across Iran since Washington and West Jerusalem began their attack more than a week ago, the Iranian Red Crescent has reported.

• The deadliest attack yet was a strike on a girls’ school in Minab in southern Iran that killed 168 children. Multiple media outlets have concluded from available footage that the school was hit by a US Tomahawk missile. Trump has dismissed the reports, insisting that Tehran is to blame.

• The US-Israeli strikes on oil facilities near Tehran have produced a “black rain” of toxic oil and soot, with residents reporting breathing difficulties. Online images and footage show thick smog over the capital, as Iran’s Red Crescent Society warns that the rain could be “highly dangerous and acidic.”

READ MORE: Streets aflame and acid rain: Israeli strikes on Iranian fuel depots compared to chemical warfare

• At least 13 Israelis have been killed in the crossfire so far. Iran’s retaliatory strikes on US bases in the region have killed at least four in the UAE, one in Bahrain, six in Kuwait, and two in Saudi Arabia.

Follow our live coverage below for continuous updates. You can also read our previous updates here and here.