Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has warned that Iran’s armed forces are ready to face the threat of any possible conflict and will use new weapons in another one.
At the same time, Iran’s foreign ministry issued a statement condemning Benjamin Netanyahu’s visit to the United Arab Emirates and “warning” regional countries about its consequences. The United States, meanwhile, has announced a $15 million reward for information on three commanders of the IRGC’s aerospace division.
In an interview with Yemeni media on Tuesday local time, IRGC spokesman Hossein Mohebbi said Iran would keep strengthening its military capabilities and arsenal and would “introduce new weapons in any possible conflict”. Iran’s state news agency IRNA quoted him as saying: “Iran is not unaware of its adversaries’ plans and movements; it is watching them.”
In recent days, Iranian military officials have warned that if war resumes, they plan to spread the conflict beyond the Persian Gulf and the Sea of Oman. They also claim that during fighting in early September they detonated a missile over a US warship for the first time.
With Iran-US tensions continuing, the Strait of Hormuz remains effectively shut, and Iraq has begun moving fuel through a Syrian port as an alternative import route. An Associated Press report said Iraqi tankers had loaded petrol at Syria’s Baniyas port to meet acute energy needs.
Disruption to shipping through the Strait of Hormuz has dealt a major blow to the global economy, sending countries scrambling for alternative routes and pushing up fuel prices sharply. Before the war, about a fifth of the world’s oil and gas passed through the strait.
The AP said Syria, under interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa, who ousted former president Bashar al-Assad in December 2024, has tried to use the opportunity to boost its economy, opening Baniyas port as an alternative route for other countries, now used by American and European markets as well.
In recent months Iraq has exported oil to foreign markets by fuel truck over land via the Baniyas route to avoid the Strait of Hormuz. Under a three-month agreement between Iraq and Syria, Baghdad has now begun importing petrol through Syria, and the first shipment reached Iraq on Thursday.
The US State Department’s Rewards for Justice programme announced on Tuesday a reward of up to $15 million for information on three senior commanders of the IRGC Aerospace Force. First on the list is Brigadier General Abdollah Mehrabi, head of the Aerospace Force’s Jihad research organisation. The second is Ahmad Jafarabadi, described as a senior commander of the force, though it is unclear whether this refers to Brigadier General Ali Jafarabadi, the force’s space commander, or someone else. The third is Ali Asghar Nowruzi, the Guards’ deputy director of readiness and support.
On Tuesday the United States also imposed sanctions on 10 individuals and entities “linked” to Iran’s defence ministry. The list, announced by the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control, includes nationals of Iran, Mexico, China and Pakistan.
Since the collapse of the Islamabad understanding, which had raised hopes of a lasting peace deal between Iran and the United States, Washington has tightened sanctions on Iran, including on Iranian airlines’ international flights.
বাংলায় মূল প্রতিবেদন পড়ুন · Read the original Bengali report