Afət Ziyadqızı
Major General Yahya Rahim Safavi, the Supreme Leader of Iran’s chief military adviser, commented to Iranian media on the possibility of renewed military confrontation with the United States and Israel and the latest situation in maritime corridors.
Operative Information Center-OMM reports that the general said Iran was not fully aware of Washington and Tel Aviv’s military plans, but stressed that the Iranian Armed Forces were preparing for any “worst-case scenario.”
Safavi said that if attacks were again carried out against interests and national centers, the scale of the response would differ from previous stages:
“The conflict has already spread from the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz to the Red Sea. If the Americans or Israel launch a new attack, the war front could expand further to the Indian Ocean and perhaps beyond.”
The general also noted that a new military front could open in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, adding that regional monitoring capabilities had been expanded from the Mediterranean Sea to the Indian Ocean.
Regarding the status of the Strait of Hormuz, Safavi said the restoration of free movement for ships through the strait would be possible only if the United States halted military pressure and accepted Tehran’s conditions.
Speaking about relations with Oman, the Iranian general claimed that a principled agreement had been reached with Muscat’s authorities on a mechanism for the security and management of the Strait of Hormuz, but that the mechanism had been unable to become fully operational because of Washington’s intervention and obstacles.
The Strait of Hormuz is a major global maritime passage connecting the Persian Gulf with the Gulf of Oman and the Arabian Sea. The Bab el-Mandeb Strait similarly links the Red Sea with the Gulf of Aden, making both waterways strategically important for international trade and energy supplies.
