Iran Warns Fresh US-Israel Attack Could Spread Conflict to Indian Ocean

TEHRAN, Sept 24: Iran has warned that any renewed attack by the United States or Israel could widen the ongoing Middle East conflict beyond the Persian Gulf and Red Sea to the Indian Ocean, amid heightened tensions in the region.

Maj Gen Yahya Rahim Safavi, a senior military adviser to Iran's Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, said Iranian forces were prepared for a range of scenarios, including further attacks on the country's facilities or national interests.

"We do not know what is going on in the minds of (US President) Trump and (Israeli Prime Minister) Netanyahu," Safavi said in remarks carried by Iran's Fars News Agency.

Safavi said Iran's armed forces were prepared for the worst-case scenarios and warned that any further escalation could significantly expand the geographical scope of the conflict.

"Now that the war has spread from the Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz to the Red Sea, it is possible that, in the next stage of a potential war with the US, this front could expand further, to the Indian Ocean or elsewhere," he said.

His remarks come amid heightened tensions around the Red Sea and the strategically important Bab al-Mandab Strait, a key maritime route connecting the Red Sea with the Gulf of Aden and the wider Indian Ocean.

The Strait of Hormuz, off Iran's southern coast, has also faced restrictions following US-Israeli strikes that triggered the latest phase of the conflict. The waterway is a major global energy corridor, carrying significant volumes of oil and gas shipments.

Any prolonged disruption to the strait could affect international energy markets and maritime trade.

Safavi did not specify what military measures Iran might take or identify any particular targets in the Indian Ocean. His comments, however, indicate that Tehran is warning of a possible geographic expansion of the conflict if it faces another attack.

The warning came after US President Donald Trump, in his address to the United Nations General Assembly, sharply criticised Iran and described it as the "number one sponsor of terror."

Trump said his administration had sought economic cooperation with Tehran in exchange for ending its nuclear programme and support for terrorism, but that Iran had rejected the proposal.

"I will never allow Iran to have a nuclear weapon," Trump told world leaders gathered for the annual General Debate.