Tehran Threatens to Expand War to the Indian Ocean “and Beyond”; Oil Rises 3%

Tehran has issued its harshest threat in recent days over the escalation of the conflict with the United States and Israel: the war could expand to the Indian Ocean “and beyond” if Washington undertakes new strikes.

The warning came from the senior military adviser to Iran’s Supreme Leader, Yahya Rahim Safavi, in a video published by the state news agency Fars. “Just as the conflict has spread from the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz to the Red Sea, it is possible that, in response to further war, the front will expand even further,” Safavi said, implying the war could reach the Indian Ocean and possibly “beyond”.

The statement shook energy markets. Oil prices rose by around 3 percent in today’s trading, with Brent crude holding above $103 a barrel. Investors fear that an expanded front would endanger key maritime energy supply routes to Asia.

The threat does not come out of nowhere. Since the outbreak of the war in late February, when the US and Israel attacked Iran under the pretext of Tehran’s nuclear program, trade through the Strait of Hormuz has been severely restricted: Iran has blocked the strait, while the Houthi movement, Tehran’s ally, has consolidated control over the Bab el-Mandeb Strait toward the Red Sea. Earlier this week, Iran’s National Security Council secretary Mohsen Rezaei also warned that American ships in the Indian Ocean would be attacked if the war resumes.

Analysts note that expanding the conflict to the Indian Ocean would have global consequences: it carries the main oil and goods transport routes to India, China and other Asian economies, while the US maintains a significant naval presence in the region.

Source: Al Jazeera, Sweden Herald