A directive with no geographic boundary
Mojtaba Khamenei, Iran's Supreme Leader, issued an order on Saturday requiring the armed forces to react at once to any hostile threat, stating that no geographic limits would constrain the response. The instruction appeared on his official Telegram account. He also said Tehran would decide when and under what terms any renewed military or terrorist attacks by its adversaries would end, and called for the military's target list to be revised so that American and Israeli assets, both physical and non-physical, fall within the reach of Iranian forces.[S1][S2][S3][S4][S5][S6][S7][S8]
Army warns of a wider war as mediators work
Iran's army cautioned the same day that any new American strike would only broaden the conflict, a warning that followed threats of further military action from the United States and Israel while both countries hold crucial elections. Army spokesman Mohammad Akraminia, writing on X, said that if the US president again pursued regional adventurism under pressure from and to appease the Zionists, the flames of war would undoubtedly engulf a much wider geographical area. He did not elaborate. Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi separately warned that Iran's powerful armed forces would deal with those who dare harm the Iranian people.[S1]
Alongside the military posturing, diplomacy aimed at averting renewed hostilities carried on. An official with knowledge of the talks told Reuters that Iranian negotiators arrived in Doha on Saturday to meet Qatari mediators, following over twelve hours of talks held in Tehran on Friday as efforts to halt the Iran war persisted. According to that official, the Qatari delegation has remained in regular contact with American negotiators. Qatar and Pakistan have served as mediators between the two sides, yet no durable deal has been reached so far.[S1]
The Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday that Vice President JD Vance had sent a letter to Iran's security chief Mohsen Rezaei at President Donald Trump's direction, seeking to revive negotiations and prevent further US strikes. Iran has confirmed it received the letter but has not announced any reply. The United States holds midterm elections on Tuesday that could shape the direction of the war, which has grown unpopular with American voters after energy prices spiked because of the conflict. Israel held legislative elections last Tuesday, giving voters a chance to pass judgment on right-wing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has vowed to topple Iran's government and under whom Israel and Iran have fought directly after decades of shadow war.[S1]
Fishermen found after Hormuz vessel incident
Iranian state television said two fishermen from Qeshm who went missing after what it called an attack by the American enemy on their fishing boat that morning had been found. Earlier, state TV cited a provincial official as saying two fishermen were missing and two others wounded in what he described as a US attack on their vessel in the strategic Hormuz waterway. AFP said it had contacted US Central Command, which oversees American military operations in the region, for comment.[S1]
