AI Data Centres to Undersea Internet Cables: US Assets Targeted by Iran if War Resumes
TEHRAN — Iran will regard US political assets and infrastructure in countries involved in a new war against Tehran as “legitimate targets” if Iranian officials are killed or civilians die, a senior Iranian security official has warned, according to the semi-official Fars news agency, amid rising tensions between Tehran and Washington.
The unnamed official said Iran assumes that the US and Israel will launch new attacks and does not consider diplomatic signals from Washington reliable. He said this view had strengthened after US Secretary of State Marco Rubio made remarks in Athens that Tehran interpreted as offering historical and civilisational justification for Washington’s war against Iran.
He said Iran’s political and intellectual leaders increasingly believe that US policy in the Middle East is directed by Israel, which they see as preventing Washington from pursuing a diplomatic settlement. The official also claimed that Israel takes priority in US President Donald Trump’s Middle East policy.
Iran now considers itself to be at war with the US, he said. Tehran also views Washington’s economic and naval blockade, as well as restrictions on Iranian airspace, as a continuation of the military aggression that began on 28 February. He said pressure from various groups within Iranian society was pushing the government to take “decisive action” to break the blockade, based on what Tehran calls its right to self-defence.
The official added that Iran had instructed its operational units that, in the event of a large-scale conflict involving the killing of Iranian officials and civilians, US political assets and infrastructure in countries taking part in the war would be considered “legitimate targets”.
The warning comes as tensions between Tehran and Washington rise over the US naval blockade and restrictions on shipping through the Strait of Hormuz. The US and Israel attacked Iran on 28 February, triggering a wider regional conflict. Subsequent diplomatic efforts have yet to resolve disagreements over the blockade and security arrangements along the strategic waterway.
Iran’s warning also follows reports in Israeli media that dozens of Israeli fighter jets flew close to Iran’s borders earlier this week. Some US sources suspect the manoeuvre may have been intended to provoke an Iranian response.