TEHRAN: Iran's Supreme National Security Council Secretary Mohsen Rezaei warned on Wednesday that Tehran would adopt a "new strategy" in its ongoing conflict with the United States following the latest escalation between the two sides.
Writing on X, Rezaei stated, "You will soon see that Iran's new strategy on the battlefield, in diplomacy and in confronting the economic blockade will shatter your foundations."
The warning followed a fresh wave of Iranian attacks against US positions across the Middle East, marking the heaviest exchange between the two nations in weeks. According to Iran's Revolutionary Guards, forces targeted US bases located in Jordan, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Bahrain, and Iraq's autonomous Kurdistan region. These strikes came in the wake of US military operations against Iranian targets that Tehran stated killed 18 people.
This renewed surge in hostilities has further complicated diplomatic initiatives to resolve the six-month-old conflict, with Iran maintaining pressure across the strategically vital Strait of Hormuz while the United States pursues a counter-blockade targeting Iranian ports.
In a separate development, Iran's Foreign Ministry accused the United States of committing a war crime following a deadly strike that hit a wedding ceremony in the southern Iranian city of Sirik. Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei posted on X, "The truth of this unlawful war of choice -- and the true face of the war crime -- is in Sirik, where a wedding ceremony was brutally bombed as part of America's desperate struggle to conceal its failure."
Data from the Iranian Red Crescent indicated that four people, including a child, lost their lives, while more than 50 others sustained injuries in the incident. Footage broadcast via an Iranian government account displayed wreckage and destruction at the designated wedding location.
Iran's top negotiator, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, also denounced the operation, labelling the United States as "Satan" (Devil) in a post on X where he stated, "If a power acts like Satan, picks targets like Satan, and kills like Satan, it's Satan."
While the US military did not directly address the wedding venue strike, US Central Command spokesman Tim Hawkins remarked that "the US military never targets civilians, unlike the IRGC", referencing Iran's Revolutionary Guards. (ANI)
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