Iran on Saturday declared that it is ready for a full-scale war with the United States, saying it has already expanded its military response by striking infrastructure in the Gulf region and warning that more powerful attacks will follow if Washington continues its offensive.
The latest escalation comes after the collapse of a temporary ceasefire agreement that Iran and the United States reached last month to allow broader negotiations aimed at easing tensions between the two longtime rivals.
According to The Washington Post, the confrontation intensified after two American service members were killed and another was reported missing following an Iranian attack on a military base in Jordan. The deaths marked the first U.S. military fatalities from direct Iranian fire since the latest phase of the conflict began.
In response, the United States launched a new wave of airstrikes against Iranian targets. Associated Press reported that the strikes targeted facilities linked to Iran’s Revolutionary Guard, including surveillance sites, air-defense systems, and missile and drone storage facilities, as Washington sought to weaken Iran’s military capabilities around the Strait of Hormuz.
Iranian officials, however, accused the United States of attacking civilian infrastructure during the seventh consecutive day of American military operations inside Iran. Tehran said the strikes damaged an airport, railway infrastructure, and several bridges, describing them as violations of international law.
In retaliation, Iran said it carried out strikes targeting strategic infrastructure in the Gulf, including an oil refinery in Kuwait, as well as electricity-generation and seawater-desalination facilities. Kuwaiti authorities confirmed that key infrastructure had been targeted, while Bahrain said its air-defense systems intercepted Iranian projectiles aimed at its territory.
An Iranian military official warned that Tehran is prepared to resume what he called “full defensive operations” if the United States continues its military campaign for another two or three days.
“We are ready to respond with much greater force,” the official said.
The widening conflict has raised alarm across the Gulf region, where several countries host American military facilities or maintain close security partnerships with Washington.
Energy markets are also under increasing pressure because the fighting has expanded to infrastructure linked to oil production, electricity generation, and shipping routes. The United States has intensified efforts to protect commercial navigation through the Strait of Hormuz, a waterway through which roughly one-fifth of global oil supplies pass.
Regional governments and the European Union have renewed calls for restraint, warning that further escalation could draw additional countries into the conflict and threaten stability across the Middle East.
With both sides now exchanging strikes beyond purely military targets and threatening further retaliation, analysts say the coming days could determine whether the confrontation remains limited or develops into the broader regional war that many governments have sought to avoid.
