Iran adviser warns war will turn offensive without deal

Mohammad Mokhber, a senior adviser to Iran's Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, warned on Thursday that the war would enter an offensive phase if Tehran's conditions are not fulfilled, arguing that such a development would fundamentally reshape global power dynamics. "The Supreme Leader's definitive strategy is for the war to become offensive if Iran's conditions are not fulfilled," Mokhber said in a post on the US social media platform X. He added that Washington's failure to protect its Gulf allies would demonstrate the clear limits of American security guarantees in the region.

Mokhber said the most sustainable foundation for a new regional order would be implementation of the Hormuz economic-security mechanism independent of US military guarantees. Tehran has promoted the proposed framework as a means of managing security and commercial navigation in the strategic Strait of Hormuz. The adviser's remarks came amid ongoing Iran-Oman negotiations on new navigation arrangements following the recent outbreak of hostilities between Tehran and Washington.

Regional Security Concerns

Ebrahim Azizi, head of the Iranian Parliament's National Security and Foreign Policy Commission, warned regional countries against relying on what he described as "the enemies of Islam," saying such dependence would put their sovereignty at risk and diminish their national standing. In a separate post on X, Azizi said regional instability resulting from reliance on foreign influence would "inevitably trigger a firm and decisive response from Iran." His comments reflect growing Iranian pressure on neighboring states to reconsider their security partnerships with Western powers.

Hormuz Control Claims

Iran's Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters on Thursday rejected US claims that Washington had ensured freedom of navigation through the Strait of Hormuz, calling them "baseless lies." The military command said in a statement carried by state broadcaster IRIB that the strait remains "under the full management and control" of Iran. The headquarters claimed that no commercial vessel or oil tanker could safely transit the waterway without the authorization and supervision of the Iranian armed forces.