Iran: US can’t interfere in Hormuz, ‘flames will engulf entire region’ if nearby countries work with US army

Nava Freiberg is The Times of Israel's deputy diplomatic correspondent.

Pro-government demonstrators wave Iranian and religious flags in a gathering commemorating the late Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, shown in a flag at right, at a square in Tehran, July 11, 2026 (AP/Vahid Salemi)
Pro-government demonstrators wave Iranian and religious flags in a gathering commemorating the late Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, shown in a flag at right, at a square in Tehran, July 11, 2026 (AP/Vahid Salemi)

Iran warns countries in the Middle East that it will target “the entire region” if they cooperate with or provide any support for the US military, saying any such assistance would be considered an “act of war” against Tehran.

“A warning is being issued to the leaders of the countries in the region: Any cooperation with or logistical support for the US military will be regarded as an act of war against Iran’s sovereignty and national security. If the war expands, its flames will engulf the entire region,” says Ebrahim Zolfaghari, a spokesman for the Iranian military’s Khatam Al-Anbiya Central Headquarters, in a Farsi-language video message carried by Iranian state media.

Iran “will under no circumstances allow the United States to interfere in the management of the Strait of Hormuz — now or in the future,” the spokesman says.

The warning comes shortly after US President Donald Trump said that the US will probably take over the Strait of Hormuz and should be reimbursed for controlling the vital waterway that Iran says it holds, following a series of US strikes on Iran, and Iranian attacks across the region.

“We’re going to keep the strait, and we’ll probably run it. We’ll become the guardian of the strait. Maybe we’ll call it the guardian angel of the strait. And we should be reimbursed for that,” he told Fox News.

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