Iran's armed forces have warned that officials, pilots and soldiers it considers enemies could be targeted even in public and recreational spaces worldwide, saying "no place… will be safe for you".
Brigadier General Abolfazl Shekarchi, a senior military spokesperson, said the warning extended to "parks, recreational areas and tourist destinations", according to statements carried by Iranian state television. "We are watching your cowardly officials and commanders, pilots and wicked soldiers," he said, adding that “promenades, resorts and tourist and entertainment centres in the world will not be safe for you either".
The remarks come as Iran faces sustained airstrikes from the United States and Israel, raising concerns that Tehran could resort to attacks beyond the Middle East as part of its response, the Associated Press reported.
Shekarchi also described the killing of Iran's senior commanders as "the result of the enemy's desperation, helplessness, and malice".
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US and Israeli officials say weeks of strikes have severely weakened Iran's military capabilities. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claimed Tehran's navy had been sunk and its air force badly damaged, while also asserting that its ballistic missile production had been neutralised. Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps rejected that assessment.
“We are producing missiles even during war conditions… and there is no particular problem in stockpiling,” IRGC spokesperson General Ali Mohammad Naeini said in remarks carried by Iran's state-run IRAN newspaper. He added that Tehran was not seeking a swift end to the conflict, saying the war would continue “until the enemy is completely exhausted.”
Shortly after those comments were broadcast, Iranian state television reported that Naeini had been killed in an airstrike.
Iran's new Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, also issued a rare statement, saying the country's adversaries must have their “security” taken away. Khamenei has not appeared in public since succeeding his father, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed in an Israeli strike at the outset of the war.
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Nearly three weeks into the conflict, Iran has continued to fire at Israeli targets and energy infrastructure in Gulf Arab states, while insisting it retains missile production capacity. The escalation has disrupted oil supplies and pushed up global food and fuel prices, underscoring broader economic risks, according to AP.
The United States has, meanwhile, deployed additional military assets to the region, including three warships and around 2,500 Marines, a US official told AP.
Washington and Tel Aviv have offered varying justifications for the campaign, ranging from dismantling Iran's nuclear and missile programmes to encouraging internal unrest. However, there have been no clear signs of an uprising, and no immediate end to the conflict appears in sight.
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