Iran Vows Continuous Strikes if US Doesn’t Halt Attacks as Middle East War Spreads to Red Sea

Iran Vows Continuous Strikes if US Doesn’t Halt Attacks as Middle East War Spreads to Red Sea

• Tehran’s military warns of “new scenarios” as Houthi allies strike Saudi oil tankers, threatening a second chokepoint on global energy supplies alongside the near-closure of the Strait of Hormuz.

Iran has vowed to keep striking the region for as long as it remains under attack, as the Middle East war spreads to new fronts with Tehran’s Houthi allies attacking Saudi shipping in the Red Sea. The conflict resumed following a ceasefire that lasted just a few weeks, throwing the region and global energy markets back into chaos as Iran and the United States battle for control of the vital Strait of Hormuz, through which about one-fifth of the world’s oil passed before the war. “The armed forces’ retaliatory attacks will continue as long as the US attacks on the country’s infrastructure and coastal areas continue,” Iran’s army spokesperson Mohammad Akraminia said, according to state TV. Iranian military spokesman Brigadier General Mohammad Akrami-Nia further declared that the conflict had entered a new phase after the US “violated the agreement to end the war.” Akrami-Nia warned that Iran has prepared “new scenarios” to retaliate if the US continues military operations against its territory. “The US must understand that this situation cannot last forever. If they continue their destructive actions targeting the southern regions of our country, Iran will take new measures… New scenarios have been developed, preparations have been made, and we will respond in a different way to prevent the adversary from continuing the war,” he said.

The developments follow fresh US strikes on Iranian military targets, with US Central Command reporting its twelfth consecutive night of strikes, saying it aimed to “further degrade Iran’s ability to threaten civilian mariners and commercial vessels transiting regional waters”. American strikes have widened from the south to western and central areas of Iran in 12 straight days of attacks since the June ceasefire fell apart. President Donald Trump on Wednesday said the US would bomb Iranian civilian infrastructure every time Tehran fires at ships in Hormuz. “Any time the Islamic Republic of Iran shoots at a ship in the Strait of Hormuz, whether it be by Missile, Rocket, Drone, or any other device or weapon, the United States will bomb and destroy ONE BRIDGE OR POWER PLANT,” Trump wrote on social media, including those “located next to, or in, the Capital City of Tehran”. Iran’s joint military command warned that if Trump’s threat against infrastructure was carried out, Iranian forces would target regional oil, gas, electricity and economic infrastructure and prevent the export of “even a single drop of oil,” Iranian state media reported. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Tehran would respond in kind to any attack on its infrastructure, writing: “Our defence doctrine is clear: eye for an eye”. Iranian state media said Thursday that a US attack killed two people at Shalamcheh on the Islamic republic’s border with Iraq. It also reported two US missiles hit Bushehr, home to the country’s only civilian nuclear plant and a frequent target of Washington’s strikes.

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The Iranian-aligned Houthis this week joined the conflict, claiming to have struck two Saudi oil tankers after declaring a blockade of Saudi ports. The Houthis said their forces carried out missile and drone strikes on two Saudi oil tankers in the Red Sea, identifying them as the Encelia and the Layla. Saudi state news agency SPA cited an official source as saying the Encelia was struck, causing a fire at the bow. A maritime security source said Encelia had transmitted a distress call, reporting it had been struck by a missile near the Saudi port of Jizan in the Red Sea late on Wednesday. The attack on the Layla remained unconfirmed. The Houthi threat to impose a naval blockade against Saudi Arabia could significantly widen the war and strain the US military, current and former US officials said. Five tankers changed course in the Red Sea to avoid the Bab el-Mandeb Strait on Wednesday, and three tankers loaded with Saudi oil for China and India made U-turns on Tuesday. Millions of barrels per day of Saudi oil have been heading to the kingdom’s Red Sea port of Yanbu to avoid the Strait of Hormuz. If shipments cannot pass through the Red Sea’s southern strait, they have only the northern route through the Suez Canal, adding weeks and costs to the journey.

In Hormuz, the Revolutionary Guards said they stopped three oil tankers from transiting, as the US and Iran vie for control over the route. “The Strait of Hormuz is under our control… and any ship that is deceived by the US and intends to pass without coordination with the Islamic Republic of Iran will suffer the same fate,” the Revolutionary Guards said. Hours later, Iran’s Revolutionary Guards reported an explosion in what it called a mined route south of the Strait of Hormuz, saying one of three oil tankers had caught fire while the other two turned back. The Guards said the strait was under their control and “completely closed,” warning that no tanker would be allowed to enter or leave without coordination with Iran.

Oil prices again climbed Thursday, with Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, up four percent at $97.80 a barrel, bringing back fears of spiralling consumer prices and slowed growth globally. Even before the renewed threats to shipping traffic in the Red Sea, Iran’s near-total blockade of the Strait of Hormuz had stoked inflation around the world, pushing up oil prices and squeezing US gasoline consumers.

On the sidelines of a Southeast Asian summit in Manila, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the Houthis had been “suckered” into attacking Red Sea shipping by Iran. “The Houthis largely were smart and stayed out of all this throughout the conflict, but they now apparently have gotten themselves suckered into this, going after Saudi Arabia and their ships,” Rubio said. “I hope they will de-escalate, because I think the Houthis, frankly, got snookered into this thing by the Iranians.” Rubio also told the diplomatic gathering that the price Iran pays “will get higher every night” until Tehran is ready for a peace deal it would live by. “Iran is begging (for a deal) every day. The problem with Iran is every time they make a deal … they either break it or they want to change it,” he said. “So now they’re paying the price for it. And maybe they’ll change their mind here over the next few days as they continue to suffer great losses.” Oman, a key mediator in the longstanding war between the Houthis and Saudi Arabia, said it was working to resume talks between the two sides, as it voiced “great concern” at the situation in the Red Sea.

Iran Vows Continuous Strikes if US Doesn’t Halt Attacks as Middle East War Spreads to Red Sea