A citizen holds an Iranian flag at the funeral of Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, former supreme leader of Iran. This image is unrelated to the article. [Reuters]
A citizen holds an Iranian flag at the funeral of Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, former supreme leader of Iran. This image is unrelated to the article. [Reuters]

A senior adviser to Iran's supreme leader has warned that any renewed US attack on Iran could expand the front lines to the Indian Ocean.

Yahya Rahim Safavi, an adviser to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Seyyed Mojtaba Khamenei, issued the warning according to Yonhap and AFP.

"Just as the conflict has spread from the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz to the Red Sea, it is possible that in response to further war, the front could expand to reach the Indian Ocean — or perhaps beyond," Safavi said in a video released Thursday by Iran's Fars News.

It was the first time an adviser to Iran's supreme leader had explicitly named the Indian Ocean in such a warning.

The Indian Ocean is home to the Diego Garcia military base, jointly used by the United States and the United Kingdom, located roughly 4,000 kilometers from Iran.

The US and Iran recently resumed contact on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York. President Donald Trump said Wednesday that his son-in-law Jared Kushner and special envoy Steve Witkoff had met with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on Tuesday to discuss outstanding issues.

Iran also conveyed to the US through Qatari intermediaries its conditions for restoring diplomacy, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei said Wednesday. The conditions include a halt to hostile US actions — among them a maritime blockade and economic pressure — an end to hostilities on all fronts, the return of frozen and restricted Iranian assets, and a guarantee of safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz under an agreement between Iran and Oman.


chami@heraldcorp.com