New phase of war announced: "The world will be stunned"

Over the past month, Iranian military commanders have issued a series of statements claiming that they have stockpiled new weapons and are prepared to use them against targets beyond the region if the United States continues the hostilities that began in February. Officials have threatened to expand their list of targets if the conflict resumes and have raised the possibility of cutting undersea internet cables, attacking artificial intelligence data centres, and striking regional oil and gas facilities, CNN reports.

“The world will be stunned”

“The world will be stunned,” Hossein Mohebi, a spokesperson for Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), said late last month, adding:

“We have new targets that have not yet been attacked.”

Nearly nine months after the United States and Israel launched their war against Iran, the conflict has reached a standstill. Trump’s ultimate intentions remain unclear as the world faces economic instability. Both sides have declared victory: Tehran is celebrating its survival, while Washington is highlighting the damage inflicted on the Iranian regime. Meanwhile, the Trump administration is pursuing new economic and military measures to force Iran to surrender, but Tehran continues to resist.

“The war is not over. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has prepared for a prolonged conflict,” Mohebi said.

“We wait every day and every night”

While military commanders demonstrate their strength, ordinary Iranians, who have long endured conflict and economic uncertainty, are preparing for another round of fighting.

“We wait every day and every night for the bombing to start again. I have charged all my portable batteries, stocked up on water and prepared everything because attacks could begin at any moment,” a 70-year-old Tehran resident told CNN last week.

A mother of two told CNN about the fear she feels when taking her children to school each morning. Their route takes them through streets where Revolutionary Guard personnel are present and military bases remain active.

“I wonder what else the United States is planning to bomb. It failed to remove Iran’s leadership and failed to negotiate a settlement. So what would be the point of another war?” she said.

Another Tehran resident told CNN that Iranians were convinced the war would resume.

“It is the only topic anyone talks about. You constantly wonder whether it will happen tonight or tomorrow. I think the worst part is that people talk about it so much that you cannot even get a break from it,” the resident said.

Those who spoke to CNN did so on condition of anonymity so they could discuss their fears about a possible resumption of the war freely.

Threats against Europe

White House advisers have discussed options regarding Iran in recent weeks. Although Trump has publicly stated that he will not take any further action before the congressional elections, several advisers privately told CNN that they did not know whether the decision was final and that it could change before the November 3 elections.

The U.S. military has developed new plans that include the possible use of the so-called “Mother of All Bombs” (MOAB). If Trump orders military operations to resume, potential targets would include Iran’s energy infrastructure and nuclear facilities. The GBU-43/B Massive Ordnance Air Blast is the largest non-nuclear bomb in the U.S. arsenal, and its use would represent a significant escalation of the conflict.

“Our people are the Father of All Bombs”

“These are propaganda tools designed to intimidate the Iranian people. The Iranian people are the father of all bombs,” Iranian military commander Alireza Sheikh said on Saturday.

Iran has announced a new, more offensive military doctrine under which it would no longer wait to be attacked and could instead launch pre-emptive strikes. IRGC social media accounts posted footage of military exercises across the country last week, including the simultaneous launch of 30 ballistic missiles.

Farzin Nadimi, a senior fellow at the Washington Institute, believes that if Tehran feels sufficiently secure, it could use its new long-range missiles against Europe. Potential targets could include U.S. forces at air bases in England or Ramstein Air Base in Germany, the largest American military installation outside the United States.

“That option is reserved for the most severe escalation”

“Nevertheless, Iran would probably reserve that option for the most severe escalation,” Nadimi said.

Earlier this month, the United States withdrew all strategic bombers from Britain to bases in the United States in response to a new, unspecified threat. Several days earlier, British authorities had arrested several people linked to an alleged Iranian plot. The suspected target was a British air base where American aircraft were stationed.

Nadimi said that Iran could deploy swarms of sophisticated AI-powered drones to improve the precision of its attacks. These drones are equipped with cameras and data-sharing systems, allowing them to communicate with one another and adjust their trajectories and speeds to evade jamming and air defence systems.

“They have not yet demonstrated these capabilities, but they have previously announced the development of similar technologies,” Nadimi added. He also said Iran could attempt to upgrade its cruise missiles with supersonic propulsion, making them harder to intercept, while also seeking to disrupt military communications and surveillance satellites.

The region on high alert

Iranian commanders are preparing for what they consider an inevitable resumption of hostilities. At the same time, they are attempting to deter Washington by emphasising the potential cost of an attack, Ali Vaez, deputy director of the Middle East and North Africa programme at the International Crisis Group, told CNN.

“Tehran wants to make it clear that the next phase of the conflict would extend across a much wider area, involve fewer restraints and potentially have deadlier consequences. But the danger lies in the possibility that Washington could interpret Iran’s deterrence efforts as provocation, making the very war Tehran is trying to avoid even more likely,” Vaez said.

When the United States and Israel launched their war against Iran in February, Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, military commanders, senior officials and civilians, including schoolchildren, were killed. In retaliation, Iran directed most of its attacks against its Arab neighbours, accusing them of cooperating with Washington.

Iran has almost completely blocked the Strait of Hormuz, the only maritime route for oil exports from neighbouring countries. It subsequently attacked civilian infrastructure in Arab cities. Targets included Dubai’s tourism hub and water facilities in Kuwait, while attacks on data centres disrupted banking services in several countries across the region.

Thousands of missiles and drones fired at the UAE alone

Iran has fired more than 2,500 missiles and drones at the United Arab Emirates alone, more than at any other country, including Israel. According to the UAE Ministry of Defence, Abu Dhabi intercepted nearly all of them.

Last week, Mohsen Rezaei, head of Iran’s Supreme Council for National Security, warned that Iran would attack U.S. targets across the region, including in the UAE, in response to renewed strikes.

“If a new war breaks out, numerous undersea cables, data centres, artificial intelligence facilities and other infrastructure across the region could be destroyed,” Rezaei said.

“We do not want war, but…”

A senior UAE official told reporters on Thursday that his country was better prepared to deal with a possible resumption of hostilities.

“We do not want war. But if war breaks out today, we are better prepared to face any threat than we were on February 28. We will do everything necessary to protect our national security, sovereignty and people,” said Ali Al Nuaimi, chairman of the UAE Federal National Council’s Defence, Interior and Foreign Affairs Committee.