Iran's Speaker Ghalibaf Warns of 'New Battlefield' After Reported US Strike on Qeshm

Iran's parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf warned on Tuesday that any US strategic error would open 'a new battlefield in the war'. He issued the warning hours after reports that a US Air Force jet had struck an Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) missile system on Qeshm Island.

Ghalibaf told parliament that Iran was at its highest level of defensive readiness, and that responsibility for preventing further escalation rested with Washington. In his words, the ball is in America's court to prevent war.

Earlier, Iranian news agencies IRNA and Fars reported that residents of Qeshm Island, Hengam and Bandar Abbas had reported successive explosions and tremors overnight.

According to US media reports, a US Air Force jet struck an IRGC surface-to-air missile launch system on the island after a missile was fired from Qeshm at a US aircraft in the Strait of Hormuz. The operation was described as limited and aimed at protecting commercial shipping.

However, US Central Command (CENTCOM) issued no formal statement confirming or denying the accounts, and no Iranian military or government official formally confirmed a direct attack on the island either.

The IRGC said separately that its electronic warfare systems had downed two US MQM-170 reconnaissance drones south of Qeshm Island and destroyed a US MQ-9 drone east of the Strait of Hormuz.

Ghalibaf said the late Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, as commander-in-chief, had defined Iran's military strategy for confronting a possible attack. According to him, senior military commanders and Mojtaba Khamenei — the new supreme leader in direct control of the IRGC — met last week and reportedly decided on 'a response without geographical limits' and on Tehran's right to determine when any conflict ends.

Former foreign minister and parliamentarian Manouchehr Mottaki said on Sunday that he interpreted that formulation to mean US military bases in European countries, including Britain, Italy, Portugal and Germany, could be drawn into any conflict. In his words, if war broke out, it would no longer be a regional war; it would be extraregional.

Tehran-based Hamshahri newspaper reported on Tuesday that Iran had updated its 'target bank', examining a scenario in which US support bases and infrastructure in Europe would be targeted under the 'response without geographical limits' strategy.

Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, meanwhile, expressed support for Gulf state mediation in a post on X. He said Iran had no hostility with the Gulf Cooperation Council countries, valued the positive role played by Qatar and Oman, and continued dialogue with Saudi Arabia.