Iranian officials said Tehran retains multiple options to respond to U.S. pressure as Washington maintains its blockade, commercial traffic through the Strait of Hormuz remains about 90% below prewar levels and fighting involving the Houthis disrupts shipping and oil infrastructure farther west.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom
TEHRAN, Iran — Iran declared Friday that it still possesses “sufficient cards and options” to respond to U.S. military and economic pressure as the conflict widened across maritime routes, Saudi oil infrastructure and Yemen while Washington continued enforcing its blockade of Iranian ports.
Behrouz Kamalvandi, spokesman for the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, made the statement as attention returned to Iran’s nuclear-linked facilities and new satellite imagery showed additional defensive work around tunnel entrances at Pickaxe Mountain near the Natanz nuclear complex.
“If you are under attack, you have all the cards at your disposal to defend yourself. Therefore, we have more than one card; of course, we have sufficient cards and options,” Kamalvandi was quoted as saying by Iran’s Mehr News Agency.
“But beyond these options, we have the resolve — a strong resolve to defend our country,” he added. “And of course, regardless of how much pressure they exert on us, we will overcome this situation.”
President Donald Trump has repeatedly said Iran will not be permitted to obtain a nuclear weapon and has threatened additional military action if Washington concludes Tehran is rebuilding capabilities targeted during Operation Epic Fury.
Satellite imagery reviewed this month showed additional earth and defensive measures around tunnel portals at Pickaxe Mountain, a deeply buried complex near the heavily damaged Natanz enrichment facility. Independent analysts have said the imagery shows construction and hardening activity but does not by itself establish that nuclear work is taking place inside the tunnels.
“We notice there’s a little activity at Pickaxe,” Trump said last week. “I would advise Iran not to get cute because we will have to hit them very hard.”
The nuclear dispute is unfolding alongside a broader U.S. effort to isolate Iran economically.
U.S. Central Command said Friday that American forces had redirected 105 commercial vessels as part of the renewed blockade of Iranian ports. The blockade, which was initially imposed in April and resumed in July after an interruption, applies to vessels entering or departing Iranian ports while U.S. officials say commercial traffic not violating the blockade may continue through regional waterways.
CENTCOM released footage of aircraft operating from the amphibious assault ship USS Boxer, which is deployed in the U.S. 5th Fleet area of operations.
“Boxer and its embarked Marine Expeditionary Unit continue to enforce the U.S. blockade against Iran,” CENTCOM said.
The U.S. military has previously disabled ships it said attempted to violate the blockade and has reported redirecting scores of other vessels after they complied with American instructions. CENTCOM said in July that the renewed operation applied to vessels transiting to or from Iranian ports and coastal areas.
Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, meanwhile, claimed Friday that U.S. aircraft losses demonstrated that American forces were increasingly vulnerable.
“The era when your F-35s and F-15s get hunted down and you have to report them damaged has already begun. What was once pure nightmare fuel is now the daily reality. Live with it,” Ghalibaf wrote.
He accompanied the statement with a graphic purporting to show American fighters, refueling aircraft, helicopters and drones damaged or destroyed during the war. The figures in the graphic were Iranian claims and were not independently established in the material accompanying the statement.
Ghalibaf also cited remarks made this week by Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Dan Caine about the changing technological environment confronting U.S. forces.
“We have to assume from now on that our formations will be hunted by autonomous systems, jammed across the spectrum and tracked in real time,” Caine said Wednesday during the Air & Space Forces Association’s Air, Space & Cyber Conference.
Caine’s remarks concerned future warfare and the growing use of autonomous systems, electronic warfare and real-time surveillance rather than a confirmation of Ghalibaf’s specific claims about U.S. aircraft losses.
At sea, the conflict continues to suppress traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world’s major energy routes.
The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations Centre said Friday that maritime activity through the strait remains far below levels recorded before the conflict.
“U.S. enforcement activity against Iranian-linked shipping has increased over the past seven days, with CENTCOM announcing multiple vessel disablement actions in the Arabian Gulf and Gulf of Oman,” UKMTO said.
“Traffic remains approximately 90% below pre-conflict levels, however [there] has been a steady flow of movement since the 24-26 Jun peak,” the agency said. “Tankers remain the predominant vessel type transiting the Strait. The southern Omani route remains the highest-risk corridor, accounting for 22 of 35 projectile strike incidents reported by UKMTO since 6 Jul 26.”
UKMTO separately reported that a tanker leaving the Strait of Hormuz had been struck Wednesday by an “unknown projectile.” Iranian state media later claimed Iran had attacked the Togo-flagged tanker Trend, accusing it of making an unauthorized passage, although it was not immediately clear whether the two reports referred to the same incident.
The disruption is reaching American motorists.
AAA reported Friday that the national average for regular gasoline had risen to approximately $4.47 per gallon, up about 3 cents from the previous day. AAA data showed an average of $4.4687 on Sept. 18, compared with roughly $3.20 a year earlier.
Pressure on global energy supplies is no longer limited to the Strait of Hormuz.
Saudi Arabia’s state-owned oil company, Saudi Aramco, has informed at least two European refiners that they will not receive scheduled crude shipments in October after a drone attack damaged the kingdom’s East-West Pipeline, according to reporting cited by Reuters.
Three pumping stations along the approximately 745-mile pipeline were damaged in the attack, according to industry sources and satellite imagery. The route carries crude from Saudi Arabia’s oil-producing regions toward the Red Sea, allowing exports to bypass the Strait of Hormuz.
The attack temporarily disrupted operations at Yanbu and forced European refiners to seek replacement supplies. Saudi Aramco has moved additional oil through Gulf routes and ship-to-ship transfers near Oman in an effort to compensate for reduced Red Sea exports.
Trump has said he believes Iran was behind the attack launched from Iraq. Iran’s responsibility for the strike has been alleged by the president but was not independently established in the material provided.
The energy disruption is occurring as Iran-aligned Houthi forces expand operations in Yemen and threaten shipping around the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, another major maritime chokepoint connecting the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden.
European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said Friday that Houthi attacks against Saudi Arabia were “unacceptable” and “sabotage the global economy.”
Kallas said she had spoken with Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan “about diplomatic efforts to end the fighting in Yemen and restore freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz.”
“Maritime passage must be unimpeded and toll-free. Europe is helping protect shipping in the Red Sea from Houthi attacks,” she added.
The European Union’s Operation Aspides has raised the alert level for its vessels while continuing escort missions in the Red Sea as security conditions deteriorate.
UKMTO on Friday assessed the risk to commercial vessels in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait and Gulf of Aden as “substantial,” while maintaining a “severe” assessment for the Strait of Hormuz.
“Since the Houthi announced a maritime blockade on Saudi shipping 6 fatalities have been reported to UKMTO,” the agency said. “The recent reported capture of Mokha by Houthi forces reflects increased Houthi control along sections of the Red Sea coastline.”
Previous UKMTO reporting has documented sharply reduced Hormuz traffic and deaths associated with attacks on vessels following the Houthis’ declared blockade of Saudi-linked shipping.
The renewed fighting in Yemen is also producing a growing civilian displacement crisis.
The United Nations migration agency said Friday that at least 112,000 people have been displaced inside Yemen during the latest fighting, while thousands of others have attempted to cross the Bab el-Mandeb toward Djibouti.
“The rapidly escalating hostilities along Yemen’s western coast have also forced more than 3,000 people to embark on dangerous boat journeys across the Bab el-Mandeb Strait to safety in Djibouti, where host communities risk being overwhelmed,” the United Nations said.
Saudi-backed Yemeni government forces and Houthi forces have been fighting along the western coastline, with Houthi advances bringing the group closer to strategic shipping routes around the Bab el-Mandeb.
Reuters reported in July that three sources said Iranian leaders had discussed using the Houthis to close the strait and had communicated that possibility to the group. A source close to the Houthis said missiles and drones had been positioned near the waterway while fighters awaited instructions.
Against that military and economic pressure, Iran’s government organized a large demonstration in Tehran on Friday involving people who have volunteered for limited military training.
Iranian state television estimated that more than 300,000 people participated in the event, while Revolutionary Guard officials said more than 600,000 had registered for the broader “Janfaday-e Iran” initiative, translated as “those who sacrifice their lives for Iran.” The figures were government estimates and could not be independently verified.
Participants in combat-style clothing marched through Tehran as Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and senior military officials watched.
The volunteers are intended to supplement the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and Basij militia.
New Basij chief Hossein Taeb said the volunteers would be prepared for “full-fledged defense” and said similar events would be organized in other Iranian cities.
The trainees would create a “nightmare” for Iran’s enemies, Taeb said.
Some demonstrators trampled American and Israeli flags and chanted “Death to America” and “Death to Israel,” according to the Associated Press.
The Tehran demonstration, reduced commercial traffic through Hormuz, the American blockade, Saudi pipeline disruptions and expanding warfare in Yemen now place simultaneous pressure on two of the region’s most important maritime corridors.
Iranian officials are publicly insisting that Tehran retains options to respond, while Trump continues to warn against renewed nuclear activity and U.S. forces maintain economic and military pressure through Operation Epic Fury.
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