Key facts
- An adviser to Iran's supreme leader warned that a renewed attack on Iran could expand the conflict to the Indian Ocean.
- The strategic U.S.-UK military base at Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean was previously targeted by Iranian ICBMs.
- Brent crude oil surged to around $106 following the threat of war expansion.
- Iran has toughened its conditions for ending the war after an agreement was broken.
- Saudi-led coalition intercepted six ballistic missiles launched by Iran-backed Houthis.
An adviser to Iran's supreme leader warned on Thursday that a significant expansion of the war is possible, potentially reaching the Indian Ocean, if Iran faces another attack. Yahya Rahim Safavi, an adviser to Mojtaba Khamenei, stated that as the conflict has already spread from the Persian Gulf and Strait of Hormuz to the Red Sea, further escalation could extend the front to the Indian Ocean and beyond. This marks the first explicit mention by an adviser to Iran's supreme leader of targeting the Indian Ocean as a heightened military threat. The strategic British military base at Diego Garcia, heavily utilized by the United States, is located in the Indian Ocean, approximately 2,400 miles away. Reports suggest that Iranian ICBMs were fired at the base during a previous escalation under Operation Epic Fury, with one missile experiencing a mid-flight malfunction and another reportedly engaged by a U.S. Navy vessel. The threat of war expansion contributed to Brent crude oil surging to around $106. Meanwhile, Iranian negotiators are reportedly firm on their conditions for ending the war, following discussions with the U.S. team on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly. In a separate development, the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen announced it had intercepted six ballistic missiles launched by Iran-backed Houthi rebels. Brig. Gen. Hossein Mohbi, spokesman for the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), stated that Iran has toughened its conditions for ending the war after an agreement was broken, emphasizing that Iran is not a "plaything" to be violated unilaterally.