Iran Warns US Attacks Could Extend War to Indian Ocean
An adviser to Iran’s Supreme Leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, has warned that the ongoing conflict could expand into the Indian Ocean if the United States launches further attacks against Iran. Yahya Rahim Safavi, in a video released by Iran’s Fars news agency on Thursday, said the conflict had already extended from the Persian Gulf and Strait of Hormuz toward the Red Sea and could spread further in response to additional military action. The warning marks the first time an adviser to Iran’s supreme leader has specifically mentioned the Indian Ocean as a possible new theatre of the conflict. The region includes the strategically important Diego Garcia military base, operated by the United States and United Kingdom, located nearly 4,000 kilometres from Iran.
The warning comes amid heightened tensions around the Strait of Hormuz, where Iran and the United States are reportedly contesting control following US-Israeli strikes that triggered the conflict at the end of February. Iran has also been accused of supporting Yemen’s Houthi rebels, who have strengthened their position along the Red Sea coast and around the Bab al-Mandab Strait, although Tehran denies direct involvement in the Yemen conflict. Iranian officials have previously warned that further US strikes could widen the geographical scope of the war. Meanwhile, representatives of Iran and the United States held talks in New York on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in an effort to end the conflict. Tehran has demanded the lifting of economic sanctions and the unconditional release of its frozen overseas assets as part of its conditions for ending the war. An Iranian Revolutionary Guards spokesman, Hossein Mohebi, also said ending the conflict in Yemen was among the issues discussed.
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