Iran has warned that the ongoing Middle East conflict could spread to the Indian Ocean if the United States or Israel launches another attack, escalating rhetoric around a war that has already disrupted key maritime routes.
Yahya Rahim Safavi, an adviser to Iran’s Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, issued the warning on Thursday in a video released by Iran’s Fars news agency.
“Since the conflict has spread from the Persian Gulf and Strait of Hormuz to the Red Sea, it is possible that, in response to more war, the front will expand even further, reaching the Indian Ocean and perhaps beyond,” Safavi said.
Safavi’s comments were framed as a possible response to another US or Israeli attack rather than an announcement of a planned Iranian operation. The statement did not specify a target, timeline or military action in the Indian Ocean.
The warning comes as the conflict has already expanded beyond Iran’s immediate coastline. Houthi forces fighting Yemen’s Saudi-backed government have advanced along parts of the Red Sea coast and have increased pressure around the Bab al-Mandab Strait, a critical maritime passage linking the Red Sea with the Gulf of Aden and Indian Ocean. Reuters reported earlier this month that thousands of Yemenis fled as Houthi forces advanced along the Red Sea coastline.
Iran has long been accused by the United States and its allies of providing military support to the Houthis, although Tehran denies direct involvement in the Yemen conflict.
The Strait of Hormuz remains another major flashpoint. The waterway, which connects the Persian Gulf to the Gulf of Oman, has been severely disrupted during the conflict. Before the war, about one-fifth of the world’s oil and LNG passed through the strategic corridor.
The latest threat also comes as diplomatic efforts continue in New York on the sidelines of the 81st United Nations General Assembly.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and US officials have communicated through mediators, with Qatar facilitating exchanges between the two sides. Tehran has conveyed conditions for reviving diplomacy, including an end to US military and economic pressure and arrangements concerning the security of shipping through Hormuz.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, speaking at the UN General Assembly on Wednesday, said Tehran remained open to dialogue and negotiations but rejected talks conducted under what he described as the “language of force.”
The diplomatic contacts have not, however, ended the military confrontation.
On Tuesday, Revolutionary Guards spokesman Hossein Mohebi told AFP that Iran had hardened its conditions for ending the war following the collapse of an earlier agreement. He also warned that any new US attack would trigger a stronger Iranian response.
Safavi’s reference to the Indian Ocean is significant because it would extend the potential geographic scope of the conflict well beyond the Persian Gulf and Red Sea. The region also includes Diego Garcia, a strategically important US-British military base in the Indian Ocean. Reuters reported this week that Britain continues to regard the base as strategically important to British and allied security.
For now, Safavi’s statement remains a warning of possible escalation rather than confirmation of an imminent Iranian operation in the Indian Ocean.
The latest development leaves the region facing a dual track: diplomatic contacts aimed at ending the conflict continue, while Iranian officials warn that any renewed US or Israeli military action could widen the battlefield.
