Rezaei Warning — Renewed War Would Begin at Strait, Extend Through Bab el Mandeb
Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei’s military adviser and former IRGC Commander Major General Mohsen Rezaei said yesterday the situation is in a “complete stalemate”, warning that any renewed war would begin at the Strait of Hormuz and extend through the Bab el Mandeb and into the Indian Ocean. Rezaei also claimed Iran has kept the strait “open to free trade” while requiring vessels to be “identified and registered” — the strongest official Iranian articulation yet of the permission-based transit regime the regime is trying to normalise. IRGC-affiliated Fars News framed the Doha talks as a vehicle to secure concrete economic gains rather than broader political conciliation with the United States.
The Rezaei “Strait + Bab el Mandeb + Indian Ocean” framing is the most explicit Iranian-side threat of war-zone expansion since the April ceasefire. It bookends the territorial expansion already implied by the Persian Gulf Strait Authority’s 20 May map (claimed jurisdiction over UAE and Omani territorial waters) and the “Strong Iran” strategy “in which foreigners will have no place” described by Aliabadi. The bilateral nuclear file remains the principal binding issue: Iran insists nuclear discussions only follow US delivery of its commitments under the memorandum, while the US wants Iran to dispose of its highly enriched uranium before any sanctions relief. The Aviationist reported that the US deployment under Operation Epic Fury remains in place — valid kinetic-option candidates for any future strikes.