Boats docked at the Omani port of Khasab
Boats docked at the Omani port of KhasabReuters

Iran’s Revolutionary Guards denied allegations from Western intelligence sources Thursday that they are planning an environmental disaster in the Strait of Hormuz in an attempt to have international sanctions lifted.

Deputy Commander General Hossein Salami said the force “does not need such scenarios to accomplish its mission and carries out its work based on realities,” according to the semi-official Fars news agency.

“These [reports] are fantasies and are not real,” he said in reaction to a story published on Sunday in the German magazine Der Spiegel.

In its report, the German weekly said guards believe the secret plan codenamed “Dirty Water” would prompt Western nations to suspend sanctions imposed on Iran’s nuclear program.

It said the plan, which was developed by the head of the Guards, General Mohammad Ali Jafari, and Admiral Ali Fadavi, head of the force’s navy division, would also “punish” Arab states for their support of the West and Israel.

"A decontamination would only be possible with technical help from the Iranian authorities and for this the embargo would have to be at least temporarily lifted," Der Spiegel reported.

"These words show that Western nations have been brought low and have resorted to making any allegation against us," Mohammed Reza Naqdi, head of Iran's Basij militia, was quoted by local website Raad News as saying.

"The Persian Gulf is a part of the waters and territory of Iran and polluting it would also affect us," he added.

Jafari and Fadavi had passed the plan to Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who would have the final say on whether to implement it, according to the Der Spiegel report.