Tehran cleric says support for allied groups will continue despite conflict

An Iranian army commander warned US forces they would face severe consequences after US officials threatened to push Iran “back to the Stone Age,” state media reported on Friday.

Ali Jahanshahi said US soldiers would be sent “not to the Stone Age, but to before that,” according to Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting.

“The soil of Iran is the graveyard of aggressors; if you doubt it, test it,” he said, adding that army special forces were in full readiness.

A container ship linked to France has exited the Strait of Hormuz, in what appears to be the first such transit by a Western European-linked vessel since the war disrupted shipping, Bloomberg reported.

The CMA CGM Kribi sailed along the Iranian coast before emerging near Oman, according to ship-tracking data and people familiar with the matter.

Iran has tightened control over the strait since the US and Israeli strikes, allowing limited passage for selected vessels while warning others linked to its adversaries.

The waterway normally carries about a fifth of global oil and gas flows, but traffic has sharply declined since the conflict began.

Iran warned on Friday it would target US and Israeli assets across the region if its infrastructure is attacked, after US President Donald Trump threatened to expand strikes to bridges and power plants.

A spokesman for Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters said Iran’s armed forces would respond by striking energy, economic, and military sites in the region and in Israel if such attacks are carried out.

“Our military … hasn’t even started destroying what’s left in Iran. Bridges next, then electric power plants,” Trump wrote on Truth Social on Thursday, urging Iran’s leadership to act “fast.”

The Iranian spokesman added that countries hosting US military bases risk being targeted unless they compel American forces to leave.

The B1 bridge damaged by a strike, as the US-Israeli conflict with Iran continues, in Karaj, Iran, April 3, 2026. President Donald Trump said the US “hasn’t even started destroying what’s left in Iran,” adding “bridges next” as he vowed to intensify attacks on infrastructure.

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Iran’s nationwide internet blackout entered its 35th consecutive day on Friday, with connectivity at about 1% of normal levels after more than 800 hours, according to NetBlocks.

The group said the disruption had left the public largely cut off from the outside world, without access to information or communication channels.

Iran has imposed repeated internet shutdowns during periods of unrest, with the current blackout among the most severe on record.