Sana'a: American aggression on Iran has once again imposed itself on the regional scene, as Washington has launched a new round of airstrikes against the Islamic Republic of Iran, continuing its habit of breaching agreements in an attempt to break Iran's three "lines of resilience": the nuclear program, missiles, and the Axis of Resistance. Are we facing a new round of a war that never truly ended?
According to Yemen News Agency, amid economic sanctions, Washington has returned to direct military aggression-an extension of decades of targeted policies-after the "maximum pressure" policy failed to bring Tehran to its knees. On July 7, the United States accused Iran of targeting three oil tankers in the Strait of Hormuz, revoked the exemptions that had allowed Iran to export oil, and then US forces launched more than 80 airstrikes targeting areas around the Strait of Hormuz and inside Iranian territory.
On July 8, Iran responded by launching missiles targeting US bases in Kuwait and Bahrain-the largest military response since the signing of the memorandum of understanding on June 18. On the same day, Trump declared the memorandum of understanding officially terminated. As the latest round of aggression entered its eighth day, Tehran announced that the region had entered a new phase of escalation with the return of American aggression, holding Washington responsible for the security and economic deterioration.
Iran's Foreign Ministry states that the recent attacks and inflammatory statements from Washington and its allies confirm that the White House has chosen confrontation over dialogue, while Iran insists its response will be "decisive and in defense of sovereignty." Within the framework of its defensive doctrine, Iran's response targets American military facilities and bases deployed in the region, which it considers part of the "siege ring" imposed on it.
Iranian analyses indicate that US bases in the Gulf states, Iraq, Jordan, and Syria, along with the naval presence in the Gulf and the Sea of Oman, fall within the range of Iran's missile and drone capabilities. Tehran views these bases not as "defensive positions" but as "launch pads for aggression" previously used to impose sanctions and conduct intelligence operations against it.
Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps stated that the response to recent American attacks came in the absence of any international action to stop US aggression, affirming that Tehran had no choice but to respond in kind. The IRGC added in a statement: "The absence of any international institution capable of stopping US aggression left us with no choice but to respond in kind to these attacks."
The statement affirmed that the United States had resumed a war it had never actually ended since the beginning of last week, considering that the American escalation represents an extension of the ongoing confrontation between the two sides. The IRGC said: "The enemy knows that our forces have become much stronger than on the first day of the war," adding that Iran's military capabilities have developed during the past period.
Former IRGC commander and member of Iran's Expediency Discernment Council, Major General Mohsen Rezaei, warned the United States on Friday that if it continues the war over the next two or three days, Iran will enter the phase of "offensive and complete destruction" of the enemy. Rezaei said: "The policies of negotiation and war have both ended. If America continues the war over the next two or three days, we will enter the phase of 'offensive and complete destruction' of the enemy."
In an interview with Iranian television on Friday evening, Major General Rezaei affirmed: "While the daily maritime navigation route was being determined, the Americans violated their commitments by carrying out actions such as attacking certain targets and attempting to exert military pressure."
Iran's Fars News Agency quoted Brigadier General Majid Mousavi as saying: "In our calculations, there is no difference between any part of the homeland; all of Iran, from Tehran to the south, is one hand." He added: "Our effective and targeted strikes on the heads of the enemies will continue from all over Iran until calm is restored to the southern coast and the Strait of Hormuz."
The head of the National Security and Foreign Policy Committee of Iran's Islamic Consultative Assembly, Ibrahim Azizi, stated that American crimes in various areas of southern Iran-including the targeting of Minab School, the children's cancer hospital in Ahvaz, and the sports hall in Lamerd, along with strikes on residential and civilian areas-expose the hypocrisy of those who raise "human rights" slogans.
Meanwhile, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi affirmed that Iranians will defend every inch of their land until their last breath. In a post on the "X" platform commenting on the martyrdom of three Iranian citizens as a result of American aggression on his country, he said: "Three villagers were martyred while crossing the Bandar Khamir bridge. They were completely innocent, and we will never allow their blood to be shed in vain."
Iran's Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Amir Saeid Iravani, sent a letter to the UN Secretary-General and the President of the Security Council, condemning US terrorist attacks on Iran, considering them war crimes due to their targeting of civilian infrastructure and the martyrdom of a number of civilians. He called on the Council to take urgent action to halt US aggression and hold Washington accountable.
In an analysis of Iran's response, the head of the International Organization for Combating Terrorism and Religious Extremism in Germany, Ali Al-Saray, stated that the strategies meticulously drawn up by the Islamic Republic, with extreme precision, and then transferred from the planning phase to the field of execution by the brave IRGC and Armed Forces, have confounded the plans of global arrogance and its regional appendages, proving that Iranian winds do not blow as the ships of the Satanic alliance desire.
Researcher at the Middle East Center for Strategic Studies, Abbas Aslani, believes that "Washington is not seeking a full-scale regional war at this stage, but rather to increase pressure on Iran to force it to make concessions on the Strait of Hormuz and the nuclear program files, while ensuring Israel remains outside the circle of direct confrontation."