Iran threatens to widen the war if the United States resumes strikes

Iran is preparing for another round of war with the United States and telling the region, in advance, that the next round will not stay inside Iran.

The Wall Street Journal reported that Tehran is fortifying sensitive sites, replenishing missile and drone stocks and moving forces toward its borders, while Iranian officials warn governments in the region, publicly and through private channels, that renewed American attacks would trigger a broader response than the last rounds of fighting. Among the scenarios Iranian officials have raised are ground incursions into neighboring countries, attacks on Saudi oil facilities, and attempts against American warships and their crews. Mediators have also heard threats against data centers and undersea cables in the region.

Mohsen Rezaei, secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, said on Sunday that the United Arab Emirates could be a target, accusing it of giving direct support to U.S. Central Command. He also said Washington's latest answer to an Iranian proposal for ending the war was insufficient, with some Iranian conditions accepted and others unresolved. Iran shares a long border with Iraq, where it holds deep influence among Shia groups, and in May Kuwait accused the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps of sending commandos onto Bubiyan Island, 20 miles from Iran across a strip of Iraq.

The threats arrive as President Trump hints that large scale strikes on Iran could resume after the November 3 midterm elections. Tehran's purpose appears to be deterrence by menu: to raise the price of a new American campaign high enough, in the minds of Gulf governments that host American forces, that those governments argue against it in Washington. Whether the threats are plans or leverage cannot be settled from outside. What is settled is that Iran is saying them out loud, and that Saudi oil facilities named in the threats are already under attack by Iran's Houthi allies in Yemen.