Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, the speaker of Iran’s parliament, delivered a pointed warning to Iran’s neighbours on Wednesday: any regional government that helped the United States in an attempted invasion of Kharg Island or any other Iranian territory would face Iran’s full military wrath in the form of continuous, relentless strikes on its own vital infrastructure. The warning was among the sharpest Iran had issued to its neighbours since the conflict began, reflecting Tehran’s belief that Washington was actively planning an operation against the island, which accounts for 90% of Iran’s crude oil exports. The threat was intended to deter regional complicity in any such plan.
The broader diplomatic context involved Iran’s rejection of a 15-point US ceasefire proposal delivered through Pakistan and the submission of a five-point counter-plan requiring an end to all attacks on Iranian officials and soil, security guarantees, war reparations, and Iranian authority over the Strait of Hormuz. The US plan had sought exactly the opposite on the Hormuz issue, making the two proposals structurally at odds. Egyptian and Pakistani officials were attempting to bridge the gap, with hopes for direct talks by Friday. The White House said discussions were continuing and characterised the overall direction as productive.
Israel continued its sustained air campaign against Iran, striking multiple infrastructure targets including a submarine development facility in Isfahan. Iran fired back with ballistic missiles against Israel and drone attacks on Gulf states, causing a large fire at Kuwait international airport and triggering air defence responses in Saudi Arabia, which intercepted eight Iranian drones over its oil region. Kuwait separately arrested six people connected to a Hezbollah-orchestrated plot to assassinate its national leadership, with 14 more suspected participants having fled the country.
US forces had struck more than 10,000 targets in Iran, destroyed 92% of its largest naval vessels, and severely damaged most of its missile and drone manufacturing infrastructure. The US was continuing to reinforce its regional presence with thousands of additional troops including 82nd Airborne paratroopers, maintaining the credibility of a potential ground operation. Iran’s countermeasures were asymmetric: carpet-bombing threats for any invasion force, Red Sea shipping attacks if a land operation began, and now explicit warnings to regional governments about the cost of cooperation with Washington.
The domestic political situation in the United States was deteriorating. Trump’s approval rating was at a record low of 36%, and 59% of Americans said the war had exceeded its legitimate scope. Oil prices remained elevated due to the Hormuz blockade, spreading economic pain globally. China’s foreign minister urged dialogue, and the international community broadly hoped that Egypt and Pakistan could facilitate a face-to-face meeting between US and Iranian officials by the end of the week. Whether Ghalibaf’s regional warnings would deter the kind of cooperation Washington might need for a Kharg operation — or whether they would simply heighten tensions further — was one of the week’s many unanswered questions.