Iran may expand war to Indian Ocean if US attacks again: supreme leader's adviser

Mojtaba Khamenei's adviser has cautioned that Iran might extend the ongoing Middle East conflict to the Indian Ocean if the US escalates its operations. Senior adviser Yahya Rahim Safavi made the remark in a video posted by Iran’s Fars news agency on Thursday. He stated, "Given that the struggle has progressed from the Persian Gulf and Strait of Hormuz to the Red Sea, it is conceivable that, in response to further hostilities, the front could extend even further, reaching the Indian Ocean and possibly beyond."

This warning emerges as tensions rise around key maritime passages in the region. The Houthi rebels, who are battling Saudi-backed forces in Yemen, recently seized control of the Red Sea coastline, enhancing their grip on the Bab al-Mandab Strait, which links Asia and Europe via the Suez Canal. Iran has provided military aid to the Houthis but denies any direct participation in the Yemen conflict.

Iran has also blocked the Strait of Hormuz, near its southern coast, in retaliation for US-Israeli assaults that sparked the current Middle East war in late February. The Islamic Republic and the US are now vying for control of the crucial waterway, through which a significant portion of global oil and gas supplies once transited before the conflict erupted.

While Iran's officials have previously cautioned that the war's geographical reach could expand if US strikes on Tehran resume, Safavi's explicit mention of the Indian Ocean as a possible new battlefield marks a first. The Indian Ocean hosts the US-British military base at Diego Garcia, situated around 4,000 kilometers from Iran.

In a bid to resolve the conflict, Iranian and US representatives convened in New York this week during the United Nations General Assembly, engaging in discussions as part of efforts to bring an end to the war. Conditions proposed by Iran for a resolution include the lifting of sanctions on its economy and the unconditional release of its frozen assets abroad.