Iran threatens to expand war to Indian Ocean: What to know
An adviser to Iran's supreme leader has threatened to open a new front in the Indian Ocean if the US resumes its strikes against Iran.
An adviser to Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei warned on Thursday that any further attacks by the United States and Israel against Iran could expand the war into the Red Sea and Bab el-Mandeb Strait, possibly reaching as far as the Indian Ocean.
What happened: “If the Americans start a new war, a new front centered on the Red Sea and the Bab el-Mandeb Strait may open before their eyes,” Maj. Gen. Yahya Rahim Safavi, who serves as a military adviser to Khamenei, said in remarks carried by the official Fars news agency.
“With the conflict now extending from the Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz to the Red Sea, it is possible that this scope could widen — in response to a potential war — to the Indian Ocean, or perhaps even further,” he warned.
During the US-Israeli war on Iran that erupted on Feb. 28, Iran launched hundreds of drones and missiles at Israel and other countries that host US military assets, including Bahrain, Qatar, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Jordan.
