Thousands of Iranian volunteers are heading to strategic Gulf islands as Tehran reaffirms control over Hormuz and warns against further US escalation.
Key Takeaways
- Thousands of volunteers are traveling to Abu Musa and other strategic Gulf islands.
- Iran says navigation through the Strait of Hormuz remains subject to arrangements established by Tehran.
- Iranian officials warned that attacks on key infrastructure would trigger regional retaliation.
Volunteers Flock to Defend Iran’s Gulf Islands
Thousands of Iranians from across the country are voluntarily traveling to Iran’s strategic Gulf islands, Iranian state television reported on Wednesday, as concerns grow over a possible expansion of the US military campaign against the Islamic Republic.
According to the broadcaster, large numbers of citizens are heading to Abu Musa Island from provinces across Iran to participate in defending the country’s southern islands.
Iranian television said Abu Musa, together with the Greater and Lesser Tunb islands, has been placed on full defensive readiness, while stressing that the entire Gulf remains under constant surveillance by Iran’s Armed Forces.
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The mobilization comes amid growing speculation that Washington could attempt a limited ground operation targeting Iran’s southern coastline and strategically located islands rather than launching a broader invasion.
Tehran Reasserts Control over Hormuz
Iranian television reiterated that navigation through the Strait of Hormuz continues to be managed according to arrangements established by Tehran.
The broadcaster said the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Navy continues to enforce the closure of the strategic waterway and that no ship or boat is permitted to pass through the strait outside Iran’s regulations.
It also accused the US military of encouraging some vessels to use an illegal southern route through Gulf waters to bypass the strait.
According to the report, the IRGC Navy is intercepting vessels attempting to violate Iranian navigation rules or use alternative maritime routes.
Warning over US Threats
Separately, a military source told Tasnim News Agency that Iran would respond to any attack on its bridges or power stations by targeting infrastructure and energy facilities across the region.
The warning followed comments by US President Donald Trump, who said Washington would destroy an Iranian bridge or power plant, including facilities in Tehran, each time Iran attacks a vessel transiting the Strait of Hormuz with missiles, drones, rockets or other weapons.
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The Tasnim source said Iran remains committed to exercising its sovereignty over the Strait of Hormuz and will not allow the waterway to become a source of threats against the country.
The source added that commercial vessels can pass safely through the strait provided their transit is coordinated with Tehran and complies with Iranian arrangements.
“Iran will not waver in maintaining control over the Strait of Hormuz,” the source said, describing such control as essential to the long-term security of the strategic waterway.
The source also warned that Washington should already understand Iran’s ability to strike targets of its choosing, adding that any new “gamble” by Trump would end only in further humiliation.
Fears of a Wider Conflict
The volunteer mobilization follows a series of expanding US strikes that have increasingly targeted bridges, railways, ports, armored formations and infrastructure across Hormozgan, Khuzestan, Bushehr, and Sistan and Baluchestan provinces.
Military analysts cited by Iranian media say the evolving pattern of attacks may indicate preparations for a limited ground incursion into southern Iran or against its Gulf islands.
Iran’s ambassador to Russia warned earlier this week that if US ground forces entered Iranian territory, the conflict would become “a manly war,” adding that he was uncertain whether Washington would be able to recover the bodies of its soldiers.
Operation Nasr 2 Continues
Earlier on Wednesday, the Islamic Revolution Guard Corps announced the twenty-fifth wave of Operation Nasr 2, saying it had targeted US military installations in Jordan in response to continued American attacks on Iranian military and civilian sites.
According to the IRGC, missile and drone strikes hit King Faisal and Prince Hassan air bases, including facilities used to prepare F-15 fighter aircraft for deployment.
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The Guard also said it destroyed eight newly delivered MQ-9 drones while they remained inside shipping containers, damaged two additional drones, struck a helicopter hangar containing two heavy-lift helicopters, and hit a residential compound housing what it described as “aggressor forces.”
In its statement, the IRGC said “the operation to punish the aggressor is ongoing,” warning that if current retaliatory measures fail to halt US attacks, Iran will prepare an operation “that will be followed by a declaration of nationwide mourning in the United States.”
Meanwhile, Iran’s Health Ministry said US attacks during the latest phase of Washington’s military campaign have killed 53 people and wounded 592 others.
(PC, Iranian TV, Al Mayadeen, IRBI, Tasnim)
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