Fresh US strikes will unleash ‘geographically unrestricted response’, Iran’s supreme leader warns

• Iran warned that fresh US strikes would spread the war wider, with spokesman Mohammad Akraminia saying “the flames of war” could engulf a much larger area.
• Qatar and Pakistan are mediating, and a Qatari delegation met Iranian officials in Tehran as US Vice-President J.D. Vance sent a letter to reopen talks.
• The conflict has hit the Strait of Hormuz and global energy supplies, while US and Israeli elections may shape the next steps and risks of more fighting.

TEHRAN – Iran’s supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei warned the United States and Israel on Oct 31 against returning to war, following threats from the Islamic republic’s foes of a possible resumption of strikes.

“If the enemies once again launch military or terrorist attacks, it is the armed forces of the Islamic Republic and the Iranian nation that will determine the time and conditions for ending them,” said a statement attributed to Khamenei that was posted on his website.

The remarks came during a reported meeting between Khamenei and senior military commanders, including armed forces chief of staff Ali Abdollahi, army chief Amir Hatami and Revolutionary Guards commander Ahmad Vahidi. It was the first reported meeting among them.

Khamenei has not been publicly seen since he became supreme leader, following his father Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s killing in US-Israeli strikes at the start of the Middle East war in February.

According to the statement, Khamenei ordered the commanders to ensure that “any level or type of threat must be met with an immediate, impactful and geographically unrestricted response”.

It also said that Khamenei ordered the commanders to update Iran’s target list to include “all types of tangible and intangible assets belonging to the American-Zionist enemy”.

Khamenei’s threat was in line with a statement issued earlier in the day by Iran’s army warning that any new US attack would only spread the war wider.

The Iranian warning comes with fresh diplomatic efforts under way to avert a resumption of fighting, with Qatari mediators in Tehran and US Vice-President J.D. Vance reportedly sending a letter to Iran’s security chief Mohsen Rezaei.

“If the US president once again embarks on more regional adventurism under pressure from, and in an attempt to appease, the Zionists, the flames of war will undoubtedly engulf a much wider geographical area,” Iranian army spokesman Mohammad Akraminia said in a post on X, without elaborating.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi also warned on Oct 31 that “Iran’s Powerful Armed Forces will deal against those who dare harm our people”.

On Oct 30, a Qatari delegation arrived in the Iranian capital for talks with senior Iranian officials.

Qatar and Pakistan have been mediating between the warring parties, but the talks have yet to produce a lasting agreement.

The Wall Street Journal reported on Oct 28 that Vance sent his letter to Iran’s security chief at the direction of President Donald Trump in a bid to revive negotiations and avert further US strikes.

Iran has confirmed receiving the letter but has not announced any response.

The US holds midterm elections on Nov 3 that could determine the direction of the war, which has proven unpopular with American voters following a spike in energy prices due to the conflict.

Israel also held legislative elections, with voters given a chance to offer a verdict on right-wing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Under Netanyahu, who has vowed to topple Iran’s government, Israel and Iran have engaged in direct military confrontations after decades of shadow war.

The Middle East war began in late February with US-Israeli strikes on Iran that killed the country’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, as well as senior military commanders.

Iran, in response, targeted US assets across the Middle East, as well as Israel.

Most recently, hostilities have focused on the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial Gulf shipping route for energy exports that Iran has blockaded since the start of the war.

The US has, in retaliation, been blockading Iranian ports in an attempt to squeeze Iran’s economy. AFP