Tehran: "A possible future war" with the US could spread across the region and bring energy and communications infrastructure into the conflict, an Iranian army spokesman warned Wednesday. Brig. Gen. Mohammad Akraminia emphasized that Iran had previously cautioned that any 'miscalculation' by its adversaries would elicit an immediate response and could expand the geographical scope of the conflict.

According to Anadolu Agency, Akraminia stated that a potential conflict could involve new areas, including energy and communications infrastructure. He highlighted strategic locations like the Bab al-Mandab Strait and a US base in Syria as already being part of the conflict, despite their previous exclusion from its geographical scope.

Akraminia underscored that threats exist throughout the region and that Iran possesses the capabilities to confront them. He mentioned that energy infrastructure and communications links, particularly those running along the seabed in waters off Iran and the Arabian Peninsula and through the Gulf of Oman, could become legitimate targets if aggression occurs.

In his remarks, Akraminia urged Qatar to intensify efforts to ascertain the fate of three Iranian pilots missing since an Iranian air operation against a US base in Qatar on March 2. He recounted that two Iranian Sukhoi aircraft had struck the base but were shot down during their return, leaving three pilots unaccounted for, while the body of one, Majid Kazemi, was recovered.

Qatar has denied holding the missing pilots, stating that its search-and-rescue teams found the remains of one pilot but no evidence of the others' capture. These statements come amid ongoing tensions between Iran and the US, which began on Feb. 28 with US and Israeli strikes on Iran, leading to retaliatory actions and an expansion of the conflict regionally.

Despite a memorandum of understanding signed on June 18, facilitated by Qatari and Pakistani mediation, aimed at ending the fighting and fostering negotiations, Tehran has accused Washington of not fully implementing the agreement. Meanwhile, Qatar and Pakistan persist in their diplomatic efforts to bridge the divide between the two nations.