Iran has warned of regionwide retaliation to U.S. strikes following reports that Washington was considering a “final blow” against the Islamic Republic.
According to reports, the U.S. military presented President Donald Trump with new options against Iran as negotiations to free up the Strait of Hormuz, which Tehran holds captive, have stalled.
Joint U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran began on February 28. On April 8, a ceasefire was announced through Pakistani mediation, but talks days later in Islamabad failed to yield a breakthrough agreement. As the fragile ceasefire Trump declared remains in place, Iran’s Aerospace Force Commander Majid Mousavi said any further U.S. attack on Iran would prompt “long and painful strikes” on American regional positions.
“We’ve seen what happened to your regional bases,” he said on Thursday, according to local media. “We will see the same thing happen to your warships.”
Mahmoud Nabavian, a member of parliament’s national security and foreign policy committee, said on Friday that Arab rulers in the region would also be at risk if the U.S. launched strikes.
“None of the kings of the Arab countries or their palaces in the region will remain safe, and they will all be sent to hell,” he said, according to independent outlet Iran International, in a warning to countries not to allow military bases to be used against the Islamic Republic.
Newsweek has contacted the White House and the Pentagon for comment outside office hours.
US Options Reportedly Under Consideration
U.S. CENTCOM Commander Admiral Brad Cooper and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Dan Caine have briefed Trump on options that include a “short and powerful” wave of strikes on Iranian infrastructure, Axios reported, citing unnamed sources.
Fox News reported that assessed targets included Iran’s “remaining military assets, leadership and infrastructure.” Another plan focused on taking over part of the Strait of Hormuz to reopen it to commercial shipping in a move that could involve ground forces.
Iran International also reported that options presented to Trump was the deployment of U.S. ground forces to small islands around the Strait of Hormuz. Another involved sending special forces into the Isfahan area to remove Iran’s highly enriched uranium, which the Trump administration says can be used to develop into a nuclear weapon. Tehran says its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes.
Fox News also reported that the Pentagon was considering deploying advanced weapons systems, including a new hypersonic missile known as “Dark Eagle.” The outlet said the system can hit targets up to 2,000 miles away, potentially taking out Iran’s remaining ballistic missile launchers.
The outlet also reported that U.S. B-1B Lancer bombers, which can have up to 5,000 pounds of hypersonics, have been stepped up in the Middle East.
Iranian Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei said on Thursday that Tehran would keep control over shipping through the Strait of Hormuz and maintain its nuclear and missile capabilities.
In its latest analysis, the Institute for the Study of War said the regime in Tehran was unlikely to make any meaningful concessions in its next proposal to the United States.
The think tank also said on Thursday that Iran was trying to sow divisions between the Gulf states and the U.S. to push the Gulf countries to expel American forces from their territories.