‘Full scale invasion’ if US continues war, warns Iran supreme leader’s senior advisor | World

Tehran:

“We will enter the stage of the enemy’s full-scale invasion and annihilation if United States continued the war in the next two to three days,” warned senior military advisor to Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, Mohsen Rezaee. In a post on X, the leader further wrote, “in the event of activating this strategy, we will no longer settle for retaliation in kind, and no political border will provide security against Iran’s offensive forces.” 

Meanwhile, in a significant development, the United States and Iran escalated their attacks across the Middle East, trading strikes aimed at infrastructure and military targets as their battle over the Strait of Hormuz intensified. The US expanded its attacks against Iran by hitting more bridges and energy sites and collapsing a tower at a key Iranian port, following through on President Donald Trump’s threats to pressure Tehran to ease its chokehold on the waterway vital to world energy supplies. 

Iran launches missile attacks on Qatar and Kuwait

In its retaliatory response, Iran launched missiles into US-allied nations in the Mideast, including Qatar, a mediator in the war, and Kuwait, where one of the desert nation’s water desalination plants was damaged.

The region has endured days of back-and-forth attacks in a conflict increasingly focused on control of the strait, and the collapse of an interim ceasefire leaves no clear end in sight for the war that began more than four months ago. The US Central Command said late Friday it had launched its seventh straight night of attacks aimed at degrading Iran’s military.

Recent US strikes killed dozens of people and wounded hundreds

Iranian officials added that recent US strikes have killed dozens of people and wounded hundreds, with new casualties reported Friday, when the US military also acknowledged more injured service members.

Iran effectively closed the strait to shipping traffic after the U.S. and Israel launched the war on Feb. 28. That sent the price of oil soaring and gave Iran significant leverage in negotiations. The price of oil rose Friday above USD 86 a barrel, close to its highest level in a month, as crossings through the strait fell to a three-week low, according to an international shipping tracker.

In an address to the American public on Thursday evening, Trump insisted the war was going well. “We are likewise winning big in Iran, and you will see the fruits of that labor very, very shortly,” he said.

Also Read | US launches fresh attacks on Iran by hitting bridges, energy sites as battle over Hormuz intensifies