Iran warned a new US-Israeli attack could expand the war toward the Red Sea as a commercial vessel was struck near Hormuz.
Key Takeaways
- Iranian military adviser Yahya Rahim Safavi warned that another US-Israeli attack could open a new front around the Red Sea and Bab al-Mandab.
- Iran’s Armed Forces said they were prepared to launch more “devastating and unexpected” strikes in response to further attacks.
- Omani authorities said one crew member was killed and 27 evacuated after the commercial vessel CAPE DAO was targeted near Musandam.
Iran Warns of Wider War
Major General Yahya Rahim Safavi, adviser to the Commander-in-Chief of the Iranian Armed Forces, warned on Thursday the United States and Israel against launching further attacks on Iran, saying another war could expand into the Red Sea and Bab al-Mandab.
“If the Americans and Zionists attack us, the war front will expand,” Safavi said, according to Al Mayadeen. “If the Americans start a new war, a new front centered around the Red Sea and the Bab al-Mandab Strait may open before their eyes.”
Safavi said that “linking the Gulf to the Red Sea and the Strait of Hormuz to the Bab al-Mandab Strait will change the landscape of the war.”
The Iranian military adviser also referred to Ansarallah’s military capabilities in Yemen, stressing that the movement maintains its own objectives and strategy.
“The Ansarallah movement has its own goals and strategy,” Safavi said, adding that it “has made very significant progress in the field of weapons manufacturing.”
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Safavi also pointed to Yemen’s history of resisting foreign intervention, saying Yemenis had stood against forces seeking to compromise their country’s territorial integrity for more than a century.
In a separate statement cited by Al Mayadeen, the General Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces and the Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters said Iranian forces were fully prepared to carry out further “devastating and unexpected strikes” against the United States and Israel in response to renewed attacks.
The statement said threats by US President Donald Trump reflected what it described as Washington’s “strategic predicament” in its war against Iran.
The warnings come amid the continuing US war on Iran, a naval blockade of Iranian ports and additional US economic sanctions.
Commercial Vessel Targeted near Hormuz
In a separate incident, Omani authorities reported that a commercial vessel has been targeted near Musandam Governorate, along the Strait of Hormuz, killing one crew member.
The Omani Maritime Security Center said Wednesday that a Royal Navy of Oman vessel, working with other authorities, evacuated 27 crew members from the Antigua and Barbuda-flagged commercial ship CAPE DAO, according to Anadolu news agency.
“Twenty-seven crew members were evacuated and provided with the necessary medical care after the vessel was targeted 2.5 nautical miles off Musandam Governorate,” the center said.
According to the Omani authorities, the attack caused a fire in the ship’s engine room and killed one crew member.
Earlier, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) reported that a cargo vessel had been struck by an unidentified projectile while transiting the Strait of Hormuz.
UKMTO said the impact caused a fire aboard the vessel and left it adrift. It did not identify who was responsible for the attack.
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Hormuz and Bab al-Mandab
Musandam lies on the southern side of the Strait of Hormuz, a strategic passage connecting the Gulf with the Gulf of Oman and the Arabian Sea.
The latest incident comes amid continuing disruption to maritime traffic since the war involving the United States and Israel against Iran began in late February.
Safavi’s warning explicitly connected developments around Hormuz with the possibility of an expanded front around Bab al-Mandab, the strategic waterway connecting the Red Sea with the Gulf of Aden.
His remarks also came as Iranian officials continued to warn Washington that renewed attacks would produce a broader military response rather than force Tehran into submission.
(PC, Al Mayadeen, AA)
ISRAEL and AMERICAS real goal and end game is not only to eliminate all ARABS,MUSLIMS PALESITNIANS and mid east people but to also DESTROY ISLAM and everything connected to it. They see and consider ISLAM as the biggest threat to ISRAEL and Western Civilization
Commercial Vessel Targeted near Hormuz — another Zionist entity black flag; must be quaking: what if the US won’t take the bait again – as usually – given no Netanyua meeting with Trump at the UN! Thanks to the stupid UK, there’s a carrousel of air tankers available.