Iran shifted to a more explicit offensive posture in its standoff with the United States on Thursday, threatening “rapid offensive operations” and expanding an exclusion zone for maritime traffic around the Strait of Hormuz, as escalating hostilities and continued attacks on shipping drove Brent crude past $100 a barrel for the first time since late May.
Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Commander Maj. Gen. Hassan Hassanzadeh declared Thursday that Iranian forces stand prepared to execute “rapid offensive operations,” asserting their readiness to to be present at any point in the country with high speed and to destroy the enemy in any situation,” according to Iran’s Mehr News Agency.
The shift to an offensive doctrine “sends a clear message to the enemies,” Hassanzadeh said, adding that US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu are incapable today of confronting their own public opinion and elites.
The IRGC commander stressed that while Trump and Netanyahu had repeatedly claimed they would destroy Iran’s armed forces, those forces now confront them more capable than ever.
Hassanzadeh’s statements follow an unprecedented flare-up in naval confrontations over the past two days. After the US announced it had destroyed five Iranian oil tankers, the IRGC retaliated by targeting two US vessels, eight oil tankers, and 10 commercial ships in the vicinity of the Strait of Hormuz.
The IRGC also struck Muwaffaq Al-Salti Air Base in Jordan, a facility housing American troops. Several fighter aircraft sustained damage in the strike, US sources told CBS News.
A US A-10 Thunderbolt also sustained severe damage that severed one of its wings, while roughly eight F-15 fighter jets suffered minor damage before returning to service, CBS News reported.
The exchanges mark a shift from tactical military strikes to direct attrition against energy supplies and commercial maritime transit, cementing the Strait of Hormuz as a central battlefield between Washington and Tehran.
Prior to the war, the strategic chokepoint handled roughly one-fifth of global oil and gas transit. Recent traffic, however, has collapsed. Vessel-tracking data revealed that only seven ships traversed the strait on Wednesday, down from a 10-day average of 14 vessels.
US drone falls into Iranian hands
In another development compounding naval friction, Iran announced Wednesday that it seized an American Dive-LD unmanned underwater vehicle at the entrance of the Strait of Hormuz. The autonomous underwater craft was developed by US defense contractor Anduril.
The vehicle carries out missions including seabed mapping, mine countermeasures, intelligence collection, and underwater infrastructure inspections. It can navigate autonomously for up to 10 days and dive to depths of approximately 6,000 meters, according to a Thursday Reuters report.
Tehran’s capture of the submersible affords it the opportunity to inspect and potentially reverse-engineer the craft, dealing a blow to both the Pentagon and its manufacturer, according to the report.
The US Central Command confirmed the loss of the submersible but sought to downplay the incident. The Pentagon claimed the craft suffered a mechanical failure more than 24 hours before disappearing, was an older variant, and carried no sensitive intelligence-gathering suites, classified sonar, or radar gear.
Anduril similarly dismissed the loss, arguing the drone was designed for high-threat environments and that unit losses represent an anticipated risk inherent to its operational profile.
The capture nonetheless hands Tehran a significant public relations victory against Washington’s narrative of naval technological superiority. Iran has previously capitalized on similar captures of US unmanned platforms to showcase its capacity to breach and dismantle US military hardware.
Trump threatens ‘hard hit’
In Washington, Trump threatened to strike Iran with a “hard hit” should work proceed at a new nuclear installation at Mount Al-Fa’s (Pickaxe Mountain) near Natanz.
Addressing the Republican National Convention (RNC) in Dallas, Trump said Washington was noticing “a little activity” at the site, warning Tehran “not to get cute because we will have to hit them very hard.”
Trump’s threats emerge amid mounting anxiety inside the US administration that the war will drag on past the upcoming midterm elections in November, particularly as maritime warfare continues without a durable ceasefire agreement.
The compounding escalation rippled through energy markets on Thursday. Brent crude reached approximately $103 per barrel for the first time since late May amid fears of sweeping disruptions across Gulf supply chains.
Roughly 10 million barrels per day of oil exports reportedly remain shut out of global markets due to war-related disruptions. Meanwhile, US Strategic Petroleum Reserves have fallen to their lowest levels since 1982, crippling Washington’s ability to cushion the market against fresh supply shocks.
The ongoing escalation demonstrates that the threat to global energy no longer hinges strictly on a full blockade of the Strait of Hormuz; rather, plunging tanker traffic, spiking insurance premiums, rising freight costs, and partial supply outages have already combined to drive oil prices higher.
