Revolutionary Guards Threaten US Warships as Far as the Indian Ocean
Iran will strike American warships well beyond the Gulf if Washington resumes attacks, the Revolutionary Guard Corps has warned. “If another war breaks out, we will undoubtedly attack and hit their ships and destroyers even in the Indian Ocean,” said Ali Mohammadi, the deputy political commander of its navy. Abbas Araghchi held the line on terms: “Our conditions are clear, and any move toward reopening the Strait of Hormuz is contingent on these conditions being met.”
The threat would widen a war already spanning much of the region, and it answers something the president said rather than something he did — he has warned of a renewed bombing campaign after November’s midterm elections. Tehran’s terms have not moved throughout the war: an end to hostilities, about $12bn in frozen assets released, oil sanctions waived and the naval blockade lifted. Explosions were reported near Qeshm Island hours after the rejection, with accounts suggesting anti-ship missiles and drones were fired at vessels crossing against Tehran’s wishes, though Iranian authorities confirmed no attacks that day. The Guards released video on Sunday afternoon of what they said was a second American underwater drone seized this month. Andreas Krieg of King’s College London expects the pattern to continue: “further attacks or attempted attacks on tankers, US-enabled shipping and regional infrastructure, followed by limited US strikes against IRGC maritime assets.” Watch the tanker route rather than the rhetoric.