Latest war news. Iran: the Pasdaran issue a warning: ‘Attacks on unauthorised vessels across the region, not just in the Strait of Hormuz’

“Those who seek to follow in Alexander’s footsteps will share Valerian’s fate: you will kneel,” declared the Speaker of the Iranian Parliament, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, in response to remarks made by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio. Rubio had written on X: “We believe that the West can… rekindle the fire that was first lit in ancient Greece millennia ago”, referring to the ancient wars between the Persians and the Greeks. “Throughout history, we Iranians have confronted those who proclaimed themselves masters of the universe and sought to wipe out ancient civilisations. They arrived amid fire and flames, only to depart amid dust and shame,” Ghalibaf emphasised on X.

Given the current geopolitical situation in the Middle East, as well as the escalating conflict in Ukraine, a number of major Italian ports, including Genoa and Ravenna, have been experiencing a decline in traffic, particularly in recent months. In the first six months of the year, the Port of Genoa recorded an average fall of 8 per cent in import and export traffic with the Middle East (9 per cent down for containers and 7 per cent down for petroleum products) and an overall decline in cargo of 1.9 per cent; whilst in Ravenna, in August alone, total cargo handling fell by over 470,000 tonnes (-21.2 per cent) compared with the same month in 2025.

In light of these circumstances – which are also being viewed with concern by those ports that are recording growth – the chairmen of Italy’s major ports are sounding the alarm over the effects of the crisis in the Middle East: if the crisis were to become entrenched, they warn, it could lead to a permanent change (which is, in fact, already taking place on a temporary basis) in shipping routes from the Middle East to Europe, resulting in the marginalisation of the Mediterranean.

The Revolutionary Guards, the Iranian Pasdaran, have announced that they will extend their ‘measures’ against ‘unauthorised’ shipping in the area to the ‘entire Persian Gulf region’, beyond the Strait of Hormuz. No details of the “measures” were given in the statement carried by the Iranian news agency Tasnim.

On several occasions, the Pasdaran have confirmed attacks on ships owned by the “enemy” that were passing through the Strait of Hormuz without following the routes specified by the Iranian authorities. “From now on, measures against ships that breach the regulations will not be limited to the Strait of Hormuz,” they state. “Any ship travelling along unauthorised routes will be pursued throughout the region and will face severe sanctions.” In recent days, attacks have been reported on two cargo ships off the coast of Qatar and another off Fuyaira, in the Gulf of Oman. A short while ago, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps claimed to have struck a “huge gas tanker, loaded with LPG, the NV Sunshine”, which was “attempting to pass through an illegal route” south of the Strait of Hormuz after UKMTO (United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations) had reported sightings of an “incident” 13 nautical miles west of Al Jazeera, in the United Arab Emirates.