The Islamic Republic has warned neighbouring states on the Persian Gulf that if the United States and Israel resume their air strikes, its response will not be limited to American bases and warships but will also extend to these countries' airports, pipelines and other civilian and economic targets. The Wall Street Journal reported the warnings on Thursday, 22 October 2026.
According to the newspaper, the threat to strike civilian targets has been conveyed to the countries of the region both publicly and through private diplomatic channels, with the aim of deterring the United States and Israel from a new round of strikes. US and regional officials believe the Islamic Republic has resumed limited production of ballistic missiles using stockpiled parts and in underground facilities; analysts estimate the regime's remaining ballistic missiles at anywhere from several hundred to several thousand.
A record of attacks on civilian targets in the region
The threat is not without precedent. In the first phase of the war, besides US military bases, embassies and the headquarters of the US Fifth Fleet in Bahrain, the Islamic Republic targeted energy and industrial facilities in the UAE, a large gas complex in Qatar and the airports of Dubai, Kuwait and Bahrain. In recent days Yemen's Houthis, the Islamic Republic's proxy force, attacked King Fahd Airport in Dammam, and the United States ordered non-essential staff to leave Saudi Arabia.
According to the Wall Street Journal, the stocks of air-defence interceptor missiles held by the United States and Arab armies are running low and Israel's inventory is also under strain, a situation that makes the Islamic Republic's threat more serious for the countries of the region.
A threat on the eve of Washington's decision
The warning comes as the US and Israeli militaries, according to earlier reports, have prepared plans for new strikes on the Islamic Republic after the US midterm elections, with the final decision resting with Donald Trump. Speaking at a campaign rally in Sioux City, Iowa, on Thursday night, Trump said there is no one in the Islamic Republic to negotiate with and that the regime's enrichment capability has been destroyed.
An open threat against the airports and pipelines of neighbouring countries, where millions of civilians and workers, including Iranians living in the region, travel and work, shows that the Islamic Republic has taken the security of the region's people hostage for its own survival.
The Islamic Republic has threatened to target the airports and pipelines of Persian Gulf states if the war resumes.
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