Iran has warned that the ongoing Middle East conflict could spread to the Indian Ocean if the United States launches further attacks, raising the prospect of a wider regional confrontation.
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.
The warning comes as Yemen’s Houthis, who are fighting Saudi-backed government forces, have recently taken control of parts of the Red Sea coastline, strengthening their position around the strategic Bab al-Mandeb Strait.
The waterway connects the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden and forms part of a major maritime route linking Asia and Europe through the Suez Canal.
Iran has long provided military support to the Houthis but has denied involvement in the Yemen conflict.
The Islamic Republic has also restricted passage through the Strait of Hormuz off its southern coast in retaliation for US-Israeli strikes that triggered the wider Middle East war at the end of February.
Iran and the United States are now contesting control of the strategic waterway, through which a significant share of global oil and gas supplies passed before the conflict.
Iranian officials had previously warned that the geographic scope of the war could widen if US strikes resumed. Thursday’s statement, however, marked the first time an adviser to Iran’s Supreme Leader explicitly identified the Indian Ocean as a potential new front.
The Indian Ocean includes Diego Garcia, a strategically important US-British military base located nearly 4,000 kilometres from Iran.
Meanwhile, Iranian and US officials held talks in New York this week on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in another effort to bring the conflict to an end.
Iran has presented conditions for ending the war, including the lifting of economic sanctions and the unconditional release of its frozen assets held abroad.
In an exclusive interview with AFP on Tuesday, Revolutionary Guards spokesman Hossein Mohebi also referred to ending the war in Yemen as part of the broader conflict.
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