Iran’s national police chief Ahmad-Reza Radan has warned that protesters who support the positions of the country’s “enemies” will now be treated as combatants. In comments aired by state broadcaster IRIB, Radan stated that authorities will no longer distinguish between demonstrators and military foes.
“If anyone comes forward in line with the wishes of the enemy, we will no longer see them as merely a protester, we will see them as an enemy. And we will do to them what we do to an enemy,” Radan said. He added that security forces are “ready, with their hands on the trigger.”
The internal crackdown comes as Iran’s military expands its regional threats. The Khatam Al-Anbiya central operational command announced it will target US and Israeli economic centers and banks in the region following reports of an overnight strike on an Iranian bank. The military urged civilians to stay at least one kilometer away from such financial institutions.
The spillover into neighboring Gulf states has intensified. In Dubai, drones fell near the international airport, injuring four people including two Ghanaian nationals, one Bangladeshi, and one Indian national. While air traffic continues, the UAE’s defense ministry confirmed its air defenses are responding to a new wave of Iranian missiles and drones.
Similar explosions were reported in the Qatar’s capital, Doha, where the interior ministry has ordered residents to remain indoors.
On the diplomatic front, Australia has closed its embassies in Abu Dhabi and Tel Aviv, along with its consulate in Dubai. Foreign Minister Penny Wong told parliament that Iranian reprisal attacks are occurring at an unprecedented scale and the conflict is “likely to intensify.”
Despite the escalating violence, Yousef Pezeshkian, son of the Iranian president, dismissed reports that new Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei was incapacitated. While the New York Times reported Khamenei suffered leg injuries and is sheltering at a secure location, Pezeshkian claimed he is “safe and sound.”
The maritime crisis in the Strait of Hormuz has also worsened. A third vessel, a bulk carrier, was struck by an unknown projectile 50 nautical miles northwest of Dubai this morning.
This follows an earlier strike on a cargo ship in the Strait that forced a crew evacuation due to fire. The Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) maintained that any nation expelling US and Israeli ambassadors will be granted freedom to navigate the waterway, which they currently blockade.
The humanitarian and military toll continues to climb. The Pentagon confirmed that approximately 140 US service members have been wounded in the first 10 days of the campaign. In Sri Lanka, a court ordered the bodies of 84 Iranian sailors, killed when a US submarine torpedoed the IRIS Dena, be handed over to the Iranian embassy.
International leaders have called for restraint. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan warned the war must be stopped before it “engulfs the entire region in flames,” citing the rising cost to the global economy. Pope Leo expressed “profound sorrow” for the victims, including a Maronite priest killed in Lebanon.
In US, the Trump administration’s strategy has faced bipartisan criticism. Democratic Senator Chris Murphy described the war plans as “incoherent and incomplete” following a classified briefing, suggesting the conflict will cost hundreds of billions of taxpayer dollars without toppling the regime in Tehran.
The conflict, which has already seen US Central Command strike over 5,000 targets, shows no sign of de-escalation. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has dismissed the possibility of negotiations, stating that talking to the US is “no longer on the agenda.”
