Iranian officials are threatening to attack undersea internet cables in the Strait of Hormuz and broaden their targets in a future conflict, as regime-aligned newspapers mock President Donald Trump and celebrate rising oil prices.

The threats featured prominently in Iran’s establishment media Thursday, alongside warnings that attacks on Iranian infrastructure or the killing of senior officials could trigger retaliation against American political targets and infrastructure.

Yadollah Javani, a political adviser to the commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, warned that undersea internet cables in the Strait of Hormuz would be attacked if Iranian infrastructure is struck. The threat appeared on the front page of the Iranian newspaper Javan.

IRGC spokesman Hossein Mohebbi also signaled that Tehran was abandoning ambiguity about its response to an attack.

“There will no longer be an ambiguous doctrine. If we are attacked, we will both respond and attack,” Mohebbi said. “The geography of the war will expand, and we will surprise America and its allies.”

Meanwhile, the hardline Kayhan newspaper devoted its front page to attacking Trump, describing him as an “addicted gambler” who repeatedly loses against Iran and accusing him of strategic confusion.

The newspaper portrayed oil prices reaching $111 a barrel as an achievement of Tehran’s confrontational approach. It also dismissed mediation efforts by Pakistan’s army chief, claiming he had departed “empty-handed.”

Another Iranian newspaper, Vatan Emrooz, published an image of a Trump effigy and an American flag burning. It claimed that fears of war had become a central issue in the American election campaign and that even Republican candidates were distancing themselves from the conflict.

The messaging also included warnings aimed at Europe, claiming that the economic consequences of an expanded war could trigger protests and unprecedented economic unrest in Western capitals.

Separately, a senior Iranian security official said Tehran is operating on the assumption that an American-Israeli attack will occur and does not trust diplomatic gestures.

The official warned that civilian deaths or the elimination of senior Iranian figures would lead Tehran to consider political targets and infrastructure in the United States and other countries participating in the campaign legitimate targets for retaliation.

He added that Iran already views sanctions, a naval blockade and air restrictions as a continuation of military aggression.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)