TEMPO.CO, Jakarta – A new US attack on Iran could lead to a military conflict that extends from the Persian Gulf and the Red Sea to the Indian Ocean, Yahya Rahim Safavi, a military adviser to Iran’s Supreme Leader, said Thursday, September 24, 2026.
“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,” Safavi told Iran’s Defa Press news agency.
Safavi said Iran’s armed forces have prepared for the worst-case scenario if the US and Israel attempt to harm Iran’s national interests.
“We do not know what is going on in the minds of (US President) Trump and (Israeli Premier) Netanyahu,” Safavi said, as quoted from Anadolu.
Safavi’s remarks came just a few days after Trump issued a fresh threat against iran while in New York for the UN General Assembly.
“I have a big decision to make,” Trump said at the time. “Will a deal be made with Iran… or do I annihilate the Islamic Republic, and do it quickly, never giving them a chance to kill and destroy people and countries again.”
The US and Israel began attacking targets in Iran on February 28, triggering retaliatory strikes. In mid-June, Tehran and Washington signed a memorandum of understanding to cease hostilities, but the conflict has resumed.
The conflict remains unresolved.
The escalation of the conflict has virtually halted shipping traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, impacting supplies of oil, petroleum products, and liquefied natural gas and driving up global fuel prices.
Read: Trump Threatens to ‘Annihilate’ Iran if No Peace Deal is Reached
Click here to get the latest news updates from Tempo on Google News