Iran adviser hints at all-out offensive after 7 US attack days

2026-07-18

Concerns grow over broader US attacks

Mohsen Rezaei, adviser to the supreme leader of Iran Mojtaba, said on the 17th that if US attacks continued for several days, Iran would 'move into an all-out offensive'. He also warned that 'we would no longer be limited to retaliation'. Iranian state broadcaster reported.

Rezaei is a former commander of the Revolutionary Guard Corps and has significant influence over military decision-making. The US military continued its attacks on the same day, making it seven days in a row. It is considering expanding operations beyond military facilities around the Strait of Hormuz.

Target expansion and spillover to neighbouring countries

US Central Command said on the 17th that it destroyed a watchtower used by the Revolutionary Guard Corps on the coast of the Gulf of Oman in an attack on the 16th. The watchtower has been used for decades to monitor merchant ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz. Merchant ship attacks believed to be by Iran have been occurring one after another in the Strait of Hormuz, and are believed aimed at putting it out of service.

The US news site Axios reported that the US government will send dozens of refuelling aircraft to Israel to prepare for expanded military operations against Iran. It said President Donald Trump could order stepped-up attacks on military facilities outside the area around the Strait of Hormuz within days. Air strike plans targeting infrastructure such as power plants and nuclear-related facilities storing enriched uranium deep underground, as well as a bombing plan for Mount Pickaxe, which the US side claims Iran is building a nuclear facility on, have also emerged.

Trump has threatened to target Iranian bridges and power plants. Iranian media also recently reported that the US military targeted bridges and water supply facilities in the south.

There are also signs that Iran is stepping up its offensive. Kuwait said on the 17th that a power generation and desalination plant was hit in an Iranian attack. Along with military bases, concern is growing that attacks on civilian infrastructure, which had been restrained since a memorandum aimed at ending fighting with the US was signed on June 17, will increase again.

Iran has long targeted not only Kuwait but also Gulf states where the US military has bases, including Qatar, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

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