Iran’s Supreme National Security Council Secretary Mohsen Rezaei on warned that Tehran would soon adopt a “new strategy” in its ongoing conflict with the United States, following the latest escalation between the two sides.
In a post on X, Rezaei said Iran’s response would extend beyond the battlefield, covering diplomacy and efforts to counter the economic blockade.
“You will soon see that Iran’s new strategy on the battlefield, in diplomacy and in confronting the economic blockade will shatter your foundations,” he wrote.
The warning came after a fresh wave of Iranian attacks on US positions across the Middle East, marking the heaviest exchange between the two sides in weeks.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said its forces targeted US bases in Jordan, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Bahrain and Iraq’s autonomous Kurdistan region. The strikes followed US military operations against Iranian targets that Tehran said killed 18 people.
The renewed fighting has further complicated diplomatic efforts to end the six-month-old conflict. Iran continues to exert pressure around the strategically important Strait of Hormuz, while the United States is pursuing a counter-blockade targeting Iranian ports.
Iran accuses US of war crime over wedding strike
Separately, Iran’s Foreign Ministry accused the United States of committing a war crime after a deadly strike hit a wedding ceremony in Sirik, a city in southern Iran.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei wrote on X that the incident showed “the true face of the war crime”, accusing Washington of bombing the wedding ceremony in an attempt to conceal what he described as its failure.
According to data from the Iranian Red Crescent, four people, including a child, were killed and more than 50 others injured in the incident. Footage shared through an Iranian government account showed wreckage and destruction at the wedding venue.
Iran’s top negotiator, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, also condemned the strike. In a post on X, he described the United States as “Satan” (Devil), writing: “If a power acts like Satan, picks targets like Satan, and kills like Satan, it’s Satan.”
The US military did not directly comment on the strike on the wedding venue. However, US Central Command spokesman Tim Hawkins said: “The US military never targets civilians, unlike the IRGC,” referring to Iran’s Revolutionary Guards.
How the latest escalation unfolded
The latest escalation began after Washington launched strikes on Iranian assets on Sunday, its first known attacks against Iran in several weeks.
The United States said the strikes were carried out in response to Iranian attempts to lay mines in the Strait of Hormuz and attacks targeting US personnel.
Iranian forces then attacked US troops stationed in Jordan and the UAE. At the same time, separate projectiles hit two oil tankers, although responsibility for those attacks remained unverified.
Saudi Arabia’s national shipping company confirmed that two Filipino sailors were killed in one of the tanker incidents.
Iranian military units later announced further attacks on US positions, including a coordinated missile and drone assault on US facilities in Erbil and a raid targeting a US Marine training camp in Jordan.
Air raid sirens were also heard in Bahrain and Kuwait. Kuwaiti officials said an Iranian drone triggered a fire at a residential facility.
Trump warns Iran of ‘greater’ retaliation
US President Donald Trump responded by warning Tehran against carrying out further attacks.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump said Iran would face retaliation on an even greater scale and warned: “There will be very little left of the Islamic Republic of Iran!”
Despite the intensifying military confrontation, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said Tehran would respond positively to any US move towards a diplomatic agreement aimed at bringing the conflict to an end.
(with ANI inputs)
