A top Iranian military adviser has escalated rhetoric sharply, warning that Tehran is prepared to drop its policy of proportional retaliation and launch a broader war if the United States does not halt its bombing campaign. Major-General Mohsen Rezaei, an adviser to Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, declared that if US strikes continue, “full-scale offensive operations” could resume and “no political border will be safe.”
His comments, carried by Iranian state media on Friday, mark a significant shift in tone from the calibrated responses Iran has used in recent weeks. The warning came as the US military conducted its seventh consecutive night of airstrikes, this time targeting key infrastructure around the strategic port city of Bandar Abbas.
US Central Command confirmed the strikes hit bridges, surveillance sites, military logistics depots, underground weapons storage, and naval capabilities. The operation, which ended around 9:30 p.m. EDT, is part of a campaign to cripple Iran’s ability to project power and enforce a naval blockade against Iranian ports. CENTCOM posted on social media that more than 50,000 US troops in the region remain “vigilant, lethal, and ready.”
Iranian state media broadcast images of what appeared to be a collapsed bridge near Bandar Abbas, one of five reportedly struck. The Tasnim News Agency, affiliated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, also reported explosions in Sirik and on Qeshm Island, both near the entrance to the Strait of Hormuz.
Tehran has retaliated with missile and drone attacks targeting US facilities in neighboring Gulf states. Iran’s military said it struck a US fleet fuel support pier at Kuwait’s Mina Al Ahmadi Port, a communications center in Kuwait, the Sheikh Isa air base in Bahrain, and an intelligence data center in southern Bahrain. Jordanian air defenses intercepted and downed 10 Iranian missiles that entered its airspace early Saturday, with no casualties reported.
However, CBS News reported Friday that several US troops were injured in earlier Iranian attacks on two bases in Jordan. The Pentagon has not confirmed those claims.
The latest exchange follows President Trump’s declaration that the 60-day ceasefire, which began just a month ago, is “over.” In an interview with Fox News on Tuesday, Trump said he no longer wants to negotiate with Iran, accusing Tehran of repeatedly breaking agreements. “They want to make a deal, but every time they make a deal, they break it,” he said.
Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi responded by accusing the US of violating the terms of the Islamabad memorandum of understanding. “The United States has effectively trampled all of its commitments and suspended them,” Gharibabadi said. “We have also suspended our commitments under the Islamabad memorandum of understanding and are not implementing them.”
The escalating conflict has raised fears of a wider regional war, with Iran now directly threatening to ignore political boundaries. The US has also expanded its targeting to include energy infrastructure, aiming to strangle Iran’s economy and military supply lines. With both sides hardening their positions, the risk of a full-blown confrontation in the Persian Gulf grows by the day.
