US forces struck three Iranian oil tankers on Saturday, including two near Iran’s coast and one off Kharg Island deep in the western Persian Gulf, roughly 300 miles northwest of Hormuz, a few days after similar attacks on two NITC tankers off Jask.
Even the possibility that Iran could put mines into one of the world’s most important shipping routes can deter commercial traffic and force the US military to maintain constant surveillance, former CENTCOM commander Joseph Votel told Iran International.
The United States is investigating whether its forces were responsible for a deadly strike on a wedding in southern Iran, Vice President JD Vance said Thursday, as evidence emerged suggesting the building may have been directly hit by a US munition.
Iran’s hardline Kayhan newspaper urged Iran’s military and the Islamic Revolutionary Guards on Thursday to disrupt or sever international fiber-optic cables running beneath the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz to pressure the United States and its allies.
US Central Command said Wednesday it was looking into Iranian state media reports that a US strike hit a wedding in southern Iran, while rejecting allegations that American forces target civilians.
Donald Trump’s question about when Iranians would rise against the Islamic Republic drew thousands of responses arguing that fear of renewed repression, doubts over US policy and insufficient outside support are holding back another uprising.
Senior White House officials will consider intensifying military action against Iran after the November 3 midterm elections, Reuters reported on Wednesday, citing four people familiar with internal discussions.
Russia has secretly helped Iran develop supersonic cruise missile technology that experts say could give Tehran a new way to threaten US Navy vessels in the Middle East, the Financial Times reported, citing leaked Russian correspondence, travel records and military patents.
An Iran International investigation into five US-wanted hackers linked to the IRGC and Intelligence Ministry found they combined state-directed espionage with selling stolen data, extortion and attacks on Iranian citizens and companies for profit.
Iran’s latest strikes on American forces have brought threats of further US retaliation, but Washington increasingly sees Tehran’s military escalation as a sign of economic vulnerability rather than strategic strength.
Iran’s IRGC intelligence arm is recruiting non-Iranian operatives to carry out attacks on ships, waterways and ports in East Asia, including two major Chinese ports, sources familiar with the plans told Iran International.
US and Iranian forces exchanged attacks on Sunday after a week of intensive regional diplomacy failed to break the deadlock between Tehran and Washington, marking a renewed military escalation following heightened economic pressure.
Iran will target US economic interests if Washington maintains its maritime blockade, Supreme National Security Council Secretary Mohsen Rezaei said Thursday, as the Trump administration steps up efforts to tighten Iran’s economic isolation.
The Iranian general who has threatened Persian-language journalists abroad as potential military targets has a history of incendiary attacks on critics and was among officials who initially dismissed reports that Iran had shot down Flight PS752.
Iran’s top security official has suggested Tehran could reconsider its longstanding rejection of nuclear weapons, arguing that US attacks on Iran have strengthened the case for acquiring an atomic bomb as a deterrent.
Mojtaba Khamenei has not been seen or heard publicly, leaving his condition and circumstances unclear as officials govern in his name, interpret messages attributed to him and invoke his authority on questions ranging from negotiations with Washington to the conduct of the war.
Yemen’s Houthis have become a more effective ally for Iran than Hezbollah, using Iranian support and their strategic Red Sea position to pursue both Tehran’s interests and their own agenda, Yemen analyst Mohammad al-Basha told Iran International.
Iran has considered attacking military targets in Europe if US President Donald Trump escalates the war, the Financial Times reported on Wednesday, citing two insiders.
Iranian men conscripted into the Revolutionary Guards for their compulsory military service fear they and their families could lose the right to remain in Canada, after letters warned the mandatory stint may amount to membership in a terrorist organization.
Qatar on Saturday dismissed the Iranian military’s claim that it had detained and held three pilots from two Su-24 bombers shot down in March, saying it recovered only one pilot’s remains and had invited Tehran to review the search.
The ascension of Mohsen Rezaei as secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council underscores that there is much political drama beneath the surface of the Islamic Republic’s portrayal of strength as the Trump administration tries to end the war.
Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei’s latest appointments to Iran’s top security and paramilitary institutions are not routine personnel changes but a reflection of his priorities for tighter control over the institutions directing war and domestic repression.