Iran warned US against fresh strikes
Major-General Yahya Rahim Safavi, a senior military adviser to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Seyyed Mojtaba Khamenei, issued the warning in a video released by Iran’s semi-official Fars news agency, as cited Al Jazeera.
“Since the conflict has spread from the Persian Gulf and Strait of Hormuz to the Red Sea, it is possible that – in response to more war – the front will expand even further, reaching the Indian Ocean and perhaps beyond,” Safavi said. Safavi also said that Iran’s armed forces had prepared for a worst-case scenario in the event of renewed US-Israeli attacks, suggesting Tehran was preparing for a conflict that could extend beyond its immediate waters. “In the maritime domain, whether in the skies over the Persian Gulf or even in the Indian Ocean, we detect with our radar systems the US naval vessels currently in the region…and determine where they are located,” he said. The former Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) commander also said Iran had strengthened its missile, drone and air-defence capabilities and was prepared to conduct both defensive and retaliatory operations. “In the missile, air-defense, and territorial-defense sectors, we have reached a level where, God forbid, if they (American forces) intend to land anywhere in Iran, they will certainly be destroyed,” Safavi said.
He further warned that a new front could emerge around the Red Sea and Bab al-Mandeb Strait, while praising Yemen’s Houthis for their role in the region. Safavi had also warned in a telvised interview that Iran was monitoring US naval activity across the region, including in the Indian Ocean.
He said Iran had at least 10 million trained Basij personnel who could defend different parts of the country through a distributed approach and asymmetric warfare.
“People are the main pillar of the Islamic Republic’s power and national security,” he said. IRGC spokesperson Hossein Mohebbi said Iran was prepared for a prolonged confrontation and that its defensive and counteroffensive operations would undergo “significant changes” if hostilities intensified. “Those changes include a shift in the geography of war, and a shift in weapons and military equipment,” Mohebbi told local media. “We will bring new weapons with new capabilities into the battlefield, and the world will be astonished. ”