Iran's Safavi says next phase of conflict could reach Indian Ocean

The remarks come as Iran's foreign ministry pursues indirect talks with Washington over the Strait of Hormuz.

Iran's Safavi says the next phase of the confrontation with the United States could reach the Indian Ocean, and that the conflict could widen further.

The comments sit against a separate track of diplomacy. Iran is demanding that Washington accept a safe route through the Strait of Hormuz agreed with Oman, and has said the strait stays shut until the US agrees, with a four to five day deadline already running. The US has rejected an earlier Iranian proposal to reopen the strait, according to Yonhap. China's foreign minister has called for dialogue on the dispute, with the comments coming as Xi arrives in the US for talks with Trump.

Treasury Secretary Bessent has said 80% to 90% of external flights from Iran are grounded, and questioned how Iranian diplomats at the United Nations would get home. In pre-market trading, US diesel futures fell sharply after a report from Politico that Washington is preparing to bar diesel exports for 90 days, while European diesel futures rose.

Safavi's escalation rhetoric runs against the diplomatic signalling coming from Iran's foreign ministry, which has been talking indirectly with Washington through Qatar and has shown openness to resolving the Hormuz dispute. Talk of a new front raises the risk of an unintended clash, with the US Navy already positioned in the region, and makes a near-term resolution less likely. That keeps energy prices and regional risk premiums elevated for as long as the two message tracks stay in conflict.