Iran has warned regional countries that any support for US forces in the event of renewed military conflict would be considered a hostile act against Tehran, as tensions rise over reports of possible fresh US-Israeli strikes on Iran.
Fada Hossein Maleki, a member of the Iranian parliament’s National Security and Foreign Policy Committee, told Russian news agency RIA Novosti on Friday that Tehran could identify which regional states were prepared to support American forces. He warned that Iran’s response could extend beyond strikes on US military bases in those countries, which would themselves be classified as hostile states.
Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi separately accused Washington of spending $11 billion in taxpayer money on missile defence for Israel over the past three years. He argued that the US had fired more interceptors defending Israel than Israel itself, describing the relationship as “parasitic”.
The warnings come amid reports that the US and Israeli militaries have drawn up plans for another strike on Iran following the US midterm elections, The New York Times reported on Wednesday, citing US officials and other informed sources. It remains unclear whether US President Donald Trump will approve the plan.
Iranian Supreme National Security Council Secretary Mohsen Rezaei warned that continued US pressure could keep global energy markets volatile for the next three years. In an interview published Thursday by US-based outlet Drop Site News, he said Iran retained the capacity to target US assets across the region with missiles and drones if another war were imposed on Tehran.
Rezaei also warned that Iran could expand its target list to include cables, data centres and artificial intelligence facilities. He added that Gulf states were reassessing their relationships with Iran as they questioned the US military’s ability to defend its regional bases.
Meanwhile, Israel Defence Forces Chief of Staff Lt Gen Eyal Zamir said there was currently no operational need to strike Iran before Israel’s October 27 Knesset election, according to The Times of Israel, citing Channel 13. He added that Israel would carry out a strike if one became necessary.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, however, accused Tehran of continuing to pursue nuclear weapons. Speaking at an IDF cadets’ graduation ceremony on October 21, Netanyahu said Iran’s leadership was again attempting to develop what he described as weapons of death. He called for the overthrow of the Iranian regime, saying that was the directive given to the IDF, Mossad and security agencies.
Trump has also reiterated that Iran must not be allowed to acquire nuclear weapons, defending his administration’s pressure campaign and suggesting Washington could intensify its actions. “We've knocked the hell out of them, and we may go a little further,” he said.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump accused Iran of attempting to drive up global oil prices ahead of the US midterm elections. He also disputed claims of major disruptions in the Persian Gulf, asserting that oil shipments through the Strait of Hormuz remained higher than before the conflict began.
