Iran has issued a fresh warning to Israel and the United States, with its security chief threatening a severe confrontation if Washington continues its blockade and vowing to target US economic interests in the region.
Iran's Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council, Major General Mohsen Rezaei, said Tehran would "send Benjamin Netanyahu, the Prime Minister of the Zionist regime, to hell" if tensions escalate again. "We will send Benjamin Netanyahu, the Prime Minister of the Zionist regime, to hell," Rezaei said, according to Iranian state news agency IRIB, in an interview with Al-Manar.
Rezaei claimed Netanyahu's actions had brought the "end of the Zionist regime's existence near" and accused the Israeli prime minister of spreading false information about an alleged Iranian plot to assassinate US President Donald Trump's son. "Netanyahu has panicked Trump and disrupted his decision-making by spreading false news about an 'Iranian plot to assassinate Trump. Fearing this news, Trump moved around like a food truck worker," he added.
Rezaei also warned that any renewed conflict with Israel would enter a new phase, particularly over Lebanon. "We are monitoring the situation with full seriousness. Israel will be forced to withdraw from the occupied territories in Lebanon. If the conflict resumes, we are preparing ourselves for a new phase; any future war will be different from the previous ones," Rezaei added.
He separately warned Washington against continuing economic pressure on Tehran, saying Iran would retaliate by targeting US economic interests across the region. "The US shift to economic pressure demonstrated the futility of military strikes, and we will respond to any escalation of economic tension with countermeasures that target US economic interests in the region," he said. "Continuing the siege means a severe confrontation with the American enemy. We exported 80 million barrels of oil during the ceasefire period. If the blockade continues, we will target American economic interests 100 per cent, with intensity and force," Rezaei added.
The threats came as Qatar stepped up diplomatic efforts to reduce tensions. Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani met Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian in Tehran on Thursday, with both sides discussing regional security and efforts to create conditions for dialogue.
"Some events occurred that were unacceptable, but we still believe that Iran and Qatar are two countries of friends and brothers and that the issues that have arisen can be resolved through understanding," Pezeshkian said. Pezeshkian also said Iran was not seeking to expand the conflict and backed resolving disputes through negotiations.
"The language of force and threats is not a solution, and stability, security, and economic peace must be restored to the region through diplomacy, rationality, and logic," Al Thani said. The diplomatic push comes amid tensions over the Strait of Hormuz, with Qatar and Iran discussing a possible temporary navigational corridor and cooperation to clear mines from the waterway.
