Iranian Parliamentary Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf warned on 26 March that if any regional country assists in a Kharg Island occupation operation, Iran will conduct 'continuous and relentless attacks' on that country's vital infrastructure.1 The unnamed 'regional neighbour' is widely understood to be the UAE, the most plausible staging point for US amphibious forces given its proximity, port infrastructure, and existing military relationships.
The threat is directed at a specific operational concern. Pentagon sources confirmed active planning for a US Marine amphibious assault on Kharg Island, which handles approximately 90% of Iran's oil exports. Iran has fortified the island with mines, anti-personnel and anti-armour devices, and MANPAD shoulder-fired anti-aircraft systems. The logistics of any assault require a staging base, and the UAE is the operationally obvious choice.
Ghalibaf issued a near-identical threat earlier in the conflict: 'regional energy and oil infrastructure' would be targeted if Gulf states facilitated military action against Iran. Wednesday's statement is more specific: it explicitly ties the threat to Kharg Island and uses the word 'occupation,' signalling Iranian intelligence awareness of the Marine planning documented in.
The threat does diplomatic work that military signalling alone cannot: it puts pressure on Abu Dhabi to resist Washington's requests for basing access or logistical support, knowing that compliance risks Iranian strikes on UAE desalination plants and oil infrastructure. If the UAE refuses to host US forces, the Kharg Island logistics become considerably harder and the operation's feasibility, already questioned by CNN analysts and the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, declines further.
