Iran Threatens Gulf Retaliation Over Fresh US Strikes

Iran has warned its Gulf neighbors of retaliation if the United States launches fresh strikes against it, raising the stakes of any military action by threatening Washington's closest regional allies.

The warning was delivered through high-level diplomatic contacts after President Donald Trump threatened last week to strike Iran's energy network and infrastructure.

The Times of Israel reported Thursday that the message was conveyed through senior diplomatic channels, citing two senior Iranian officials, two Gulf sources and a senior regional diplomat familiar with the discussions.

Trump canceled the planned strike, which he said would have been the largest military operation since World War II, in hopes of reaching a deal over Iran's nuclear program and reopening the Strait of Hormuz.

The strait, through which about one-fifth of global oil shipments pass, has seen commercial shipping largely halted by Iranian attacks on vessels.

The five sources told the Times that Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi spoke with his Saudi, Turkish and Qatari counterparts, as well as Pakistan's army chief.

The senior diplomat said Araghchi urged Washington's regional allies to use their influence with Trump to dissuade him from launching renewed strikes, warning that any attack on Iran would prompt retaliation against U.S. assets and energy facilities across the Gulf.

The diplomat said Araghchi's message was consistent in every conversation: "We're ready to retaliate, but finding a diplomatic solution is the best way to avoid wider escalation and destruction across the region."

"The Iranian warning was unequivocal: if America targeted Iran's infrastructure, they would retaliate by striking Gulf energy facilities and other regional targets," a Gulf source told the Times.

One Iranian official told the Times that Tehran's warning made clear that any new U.S. strike would be met with attacks on energy facilities, refineries, electricity grids, water infrastructure, transportation networks, and oil fields across the Gulf.

"The enemy continues to threaten Iranian infrastructure. If Iran suffers damage, it will inflict far greater damage in return," the official said.

"They still remember Saudi Arabia's Aramco," he added, referring to the September 2019 drone and missile attacks on the Abqaiq and Khurais facilities that temporarily knocked out more than half of the kingdom's crude oil production and exposed the vulnerability of the Gulf's energy infrastructure.

The diplomatic maneuvering illustrates Iran's effort to use the threat of a wider regional conflict as leverage against further U.S. strikes, putting Gulf states that host U.S. military bases and rely on energy exports in a difficult position between Washington and Tehran.

Meanwhile, the Tasnim News Agency, affiliated with Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, reported Wednesday that U.S. interference and threats by Trump are the main reasons for a delay in reaching an agreement between Iran and Oman regarding the Strait of Hormuz.

"As long as U.S. interference and threats of military action against Iran continue, the agreement will remain delayed," a source told Sepah News, according to Tasnim.

The source emphasized that Iran would not conclude an agreement under the threat of military action.

Esmaeil Baqaei, a spokesperson for the Iranian Foreign Ministry, has said negotiations with Oman are focused on establishing secure shipping routes while safeguarding the sovereign rights and security interests of both countries.

Sources familiar with the talks told Tasnim the proposed arrangement would allow Iran to oversee inbound maritime traffic through an Iranian-controlled shipping lane while maintaining visibility over outbound traffic.

Iran also would retain the authority to intervene when necessary to protect security and navigation.

Under the reported framework, vessels departing the Persian Gulf would transit through a lane jointly managed with Oman, with final exit clearance issued by Omani authorities after notifying Tehran.

Reports also have indicated that the negotiations include plans to establish a new "middle corridor" in the Strait of Hormuz to replace the existing northern and southern shipping lanes.

The proposed mechanism also would include security and environmental service fees and would be linked to the removal of U.S. restrictions targeting Iranian ports.

Michael Katz ✉

Michael Katz is a Newsmax reporter with more than 30 years of experience reporting and editing on news, culture, and politics.

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