Iran Threatens Gulf Incursions, Saudi Oil Strikes If US Attacks

Iranian officials have warned that their forces could push into neighboring countries and hit Saudi oil facilities and US warships if Washington renews strikes on the Islamic Republic, the Wall Street Journal reported. According to the Journal, Iran is preparing for possible American attacks after the November 3 midterm elections. Tehran delivered the warnings in public and through private channels.

Some Iranian officials hinted at ground incursions into neighboring states, without identifying targets. Arab officials were told privately that a renewed war could bring attacks on Saudi oil facilities and other strategic targets in the region. Mediators heard that Iranian forces might escalate against American troops, up to trying to sink US warships in the region.

On Sunday, Mohsen Rezaei, head of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, said Tehran could strike the United Arab Emirates. He also named data centers and internet cables across the region as potential targets.

Shipping near Iran has already come under attack. The UK Maritime Trade Operations agency counted at least three commercial ships hit in and around the Strait of Hormuz over the weekend. A drone strike left an Emirati tanker burning off Oman, and two Indian sailors are missing.

In Saudi Arabia, Ynet put the toll from Saturday's Houthi missile strike on Riyadh's international airport at a minimum of 13 dead. The Associated Press reported 12 killed, while Reuters put the toll from the strikes on the airport at at least 18.

President Donald Trump ruled out strikes before the midterms. US officials said the military is drawing up a range of options.

Maariv reported over the weekend that the United States had pressed Israel to carry out a strike on Iran on its own before the midterms, The Jerusalem Post noted. According to Maariv's sources, Washington has since backed down from the demand, at least for now. Two US officials and one Israeli official denied the report, telling Channel 12 that the US did not ask Israel to strike Iran before the elections.

Houthis and Saudi Arabia (Photo: No credit, AI illustration)

Iran, for its part, is hardening its defenses. Last month it piled makeshift dirt mounds around its Natanz and Pickaxe Mountain nuclear sites to obstruct any ground raid, according to satellite imagery analyzed by the Institute for Science and International Security. Brig. Gen. Gholamreza Jalali, who oversees Iran's contingency plans, said the country's airports, seaports and power plants "have prepared for wartime conditions."

"In both word and deed, the Islamic Republic is actively preparing for the next war," said Behnam Ben Taleblu, senior director of the Iran program at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies.

Iran's ability to fend off advanced American aircraft and cruise missiles remains limited, the Journal noted.

Earlier in September, drones launched from Iraq struck Saudi Arabia's East-West oil pipeline, forcing its closure, and US forces completed their withdrawal from Iraq on September 30. On the diplomatic track, Rezaei said on Sunday that the latest US response was "insufficient," the Associated Press reported.

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