Iran issued a sweeping warning to the United States and its Gulf neighbors over the weekend, threatening to set regional oil and gas fields ablaze if Washington follows through on President Donald Trump’s threats of renewed attacks against Iranian targets. The warning arrived hours after Kuwait announced its military had destroyed hostile drones launched by Iran against facilities in the country’s north.
Araqchi Works the Phones Across the Region
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi spent Saturday working the phones, placing separate calls to senior officials in Turkey, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia to warn against any “adventurous action” by the United States. In a call with Pakistan’s Army Chief, Field Marshal Asim Munir, and Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, Araqchi said Iran would respond “decisively” to any aggression and walked through the consequences of what he described as “destabilizing actions” by Washington, according to his Telegram account. He also raised the prospect of heightened regional insecurity if the conflict widens further.
Araqchi later delivered a more pointed message to Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan, telling him that any strikes carried out by the United States and Israel — or any participation by regional countries in such actions — would be met with a “proportionate response.”
“All Will Be Burned to Ashes”
The sharpest warning came from Nournews, a media outlet affiliated with Iran’s top security body, which said Saturday that any U.S. strikes on Iranian energy infrastructure would prompt Iranian retaliation against oil fields in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, along with gas fields in Qatar and Israel, declaring that “all will be burned to ashes.”
The threat was echoed by Iran’s military leadership. Major General Ali Abdollahi, head of Iran’s wartime military command, said in a statement that the United States is moving at an accelerating pace to fan the flames of a full-scale regional war, and accused Washington of using Gulf nations’ capital, resources and infrastructure as a shield for its own interests while strengthening Israel’s war machine. He warned Muslim countries to reconsider their alignment with Washington, saying explicitly that any country that makes itself a defensive shield for “criminal, aggressor America” will burn in the fire of war.
Trump Signals He’s Losing Patience
The Iranian warnings came just a day after Trump gathered his Cabinet at Camp David, where he said he believed U.S. negotiators — including his son-in-law Jared Kushner, special envoy Steve Witkoff and Secretary of State Marco Rubio — could still reach a deal with Tehran. But Trump also indicated his patience was wearing thin, saying Iranian leaders “break their word so often,” a charge Tehran has frequently leveled at Washington in return, and said he would be “hitting them.”
That message was consistent with other remarks Trump made during the Friday session. Trump appeared to suggest that ongoing U.S. strikes on Iran were unlikely to end anytime soon, telegraphing a strategy to continue attacks until Iran returns to the negotiating table. “We’ll be hitting them very hard and, you know, at some point, they’re going to say, ‘We just can’t take it anymore,'” Trump told reporters. He also described Iran’s military capacity in blunt terms, saying “It’s all gone. Their radar is all gone. Their leaders are all gone. Everything’s all gone. But they’ll fight onward,” before predicting Tehran would eventually “peter out.” Trump additionally referred to Iranian leadership as “crazy” and said he is “losing faith in them because they do lie and they do misrepresent.”
Kuwait Says Drones Struck Government and Civilian Sites
Hours before Araqchi’s calls, Kuwait’s military said it had detected and destroyed hostile drones that entered the country’s airspace early Saturday. Defense Ministry spokesman Colonel Staff Saud Al-Atwan said the drones targeted a government facility in northern Kuwait as well as vehicles belonging to a private company on Bubiyan Island. Falling debris caused material damage, but no injuries were reported, Al-Atwan said, adding that Kuwait’s armed forces “remain on constant alert and are taking all necessary measures, in coordination with the relevant authorities, to protect Kuwait’s sovereignty and ensure the safety of citizens and residents.”
Kuwait’s Foreign Ministry condemned the strikes as a violation of the country’s sovereignty, saying the attacks constitute a blatant violation of Kuwait’s sovereignty and a direct threat to its security and stability, and accused Iran of breaching international law, the U.N. Charter, principles of good-neighborliness and U.N. Security Council Resolution 2817. Kuwait, which hosts U.S. military facilities, has been repeatedly targeted by Iranian strikes since the war began in late February.
Reports of a Looming Large-Scale U.S. Strike
The Iranian threats also followed a wave of U.S. media reporting that the White House had reviewed plans for a large-scale campaign against Iran’s energy infrastructure, with a strike potentially coming as early as this past weekend. The Wall Street Journal and CNN reported that the White House has reviewed plans for large-scale strikes against Iran’s energy infrastructure, although Trump has not given final authorization and diplomacy remains an option. In response, U.S. embassies across the Middle East, including in the UAE, Jordan, Iraq and Israel, urged Americans on Saturday to consider leaving the region or be prepared for further disruption.
Separately, Iran’s state-run Tasnim news agency reported that Tehran’s retaliatory planning includes strikes on critical infrastructure in both Israel and the United States’ regional footprint, including energy facilities, should Washington act. That reporting aligned with additional accounts that CBS News reported that US and Israeli forces were planning joint strikes on energy-related sites, also as soon as this weekend, and that the targets would likely be oil refineries and power plants. Trump has previously vowed to destroy Iranian infrastructure such as bridges and power plants in retaliation for attacks on shipping in the Strait of Hormuz.
Oil Prices and the Strait of Hormuz
Oil prices have remained elevated since U.S. and Israeli forces launched the initial strikes on Iran on February 28, the opening act of a war that has now stretched across five months. Trump has argued that keeping Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons justifies the near-term pain at the pump, even as the economic fallout mounts political pressure on his administration ahead of the November midterms. Benchmark Brent crude futures rose 24% in July, and analysts polled by Reuters expect prices to climb further this year.
The risk of Iranian retaliation has deterred much of the shipping traffic that normally passes through the Strait of Hormuz, a vital artery for global energy supplies, since the conflict began — a disruption that has rippled through the world economy. That risk has grown more acute in recent days: the war Trump once predicted would end in weeks is instead widening, with little progress made toward reopening the strait to normal traffic.
Threats Spread to the Bab el-Mandeb and Oman
Adding to the industry’s unease, Iran’s Houthi allies in Yemen have recently begun threatening the Bab el-Mandeb, the strait at the opposite end of the Red Sea from the Suez Canal and another key export route for Saudi crude. The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations agency said Saturday it had received reports of two separate maritime incidents off the coast of Oman. In one, a tanker was struck by an unknown projectile that damaged its engine room. In the second, the master of a vessel reported seeing a large splash and an explosion close by, though no damage was reported in that instance.
A War Still Widening
The exchanges over the weekend underscore how far the conflict has expanded beyond its original front lines since February. What began as U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iranian nuclear-linked sites has evolved into a regional standoff touching Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar, Oman and Yemen, with global energy markets absorbing the shock. A ceasefire agreement signed in June collapsed weeks later, and with Trump signaling a continued campaign of pressure and Iran threatening to widen retaliation to the energy infrastructure of neutral and allied states alike, both sides appear positioned for further escalation rather than a near-term resolution.