ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Iran’s security chief Mohsen Rezaei warned on Thursday that military bases involved in any new US war against Iran could face strikes, including those in Europe, as Washington reportedly considers direct talks with Tehran. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps the same day reported explosions aboard two supertankers in the Strait of Hormuz.
“If the US launches another war against Iran, every military base involved in the aggression—from West Asia to Europe—will be a legitimate target for Iran’s lethal strikes,” Rezaei wrote on X on Wednesday.
“NO SAFE DISTANCE. NO SAFE HAVEN. NO IMMUNITY,” he added.
Rezaei, who serves as the secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council – Iran’s top security decision-making body and lead negotiator on the war – is reportedly on US Vice President JD Vance’s radar for a potential meeting to discuss an end to the war which began in late February, according to the Wall Street Journal. The WSJ reported on Wednesday that President Donald Trump had authorized Vance to negotiate, although discussions about a meeting remain preliminary.
Iranian officials have denied that a meeting is being arranged. Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told state media IRNA on Tuesday that there were “no plans” and that the speculations were “baseless.” Rezaei has separately dismissed reports of ongoing negotiations, according to IRGC-affiliated Tasnim news agency.
The disagreement over talks comes as both countries continue military and economic pressure. Washington maintains a naval blockade of Iranian ports, while Tehran has tied the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz – a major waterway which saw the transit of 20 percent of the world’s crude oil prior to the war – to the US meeting its conditions. Those include lifting the blockade, releasing frozen Iranian assets and ending the war on all fronts.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Tuesday said Iran’s demands were “absurd” during a press conference ahead of the G7 foreign ministers' meeting in Paris, while maintaining that Washington “always stands ready” for diplomacy if Tehran changes its position.
Araghchi responded Wednesday on X by accusing Rubio of repeating the same “drivel” parroted by former secretary of state Mike Pompeo several years back regarding the use of economic hardship to force Iranians into following Washington’s orders.
Qatar has been a mediating force between both sides. Araghchi on Sunday reiterated Iran’s resolve, stating that Tehran’s two-day proposal stands. “Meet the requirements, including end to war on all fronts, and you will see results,” he said, threatening that his forces would “rain down hell” if war continued. An earlier proposal allowed seven days for reopening the passage.
Meanwhile, the IRGC Navy’s public relations office on Thursday reported an overnight explosion of two supertankers carrying more than four million barrels of oil which “are now burning” after ignoring “repeated warnings,” semi-official Mehr news agency reported.
British maritime monitor UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) issued a warning on Wednesday of a “suspicious activity” involving a tanker in the strait reporting involving a tanker. It did not identify the vessel, status of the crew, damage, or describe what had happened. It remains unclear whether that warning concerns either of the tankers described in the Iranian statement.
