An Iranian military leader on Friday threatened to attack "parks, recreational areas, and tourist destinations" around the world in response to the ongoing campaign against the Islamic Republic, the Associated Press reported.
Iran's military spokesman, Gen. Abolfazl Shekarchi, said the hardline regime views these public places as legitimate theaters.
"From now on, based on the information we have about you, even parks, recreational areas, and tourist destinations anywhere in the world will no longer be safe for you," Shekarchi said, warning that the regime could expand the conflict far beyond the Middle East.
The Islamic Republic has already spread the fighting across the region, striking numerous Gulf states. The United Arab Emirates has been the regime's main target, with Tehran firing more than 2,000 drones and missiles at the country since February 28. More than 80 percent of those strikes have targeted civilian infrastructure.
Shekarchi's threat comes as U.S. authorities remain on high alert for the possibility of domestic terror attacks, whether orchestrated by the regime or carried out by lone-wolf sympathizers. The United States has faced several such attacks since Operation Epic Fury began, most recently when a terrorist gunman drove a truck full of explosives into a synagogue in West Bloomfield, Mich., last week. That gunman, Ayman Mohamad Ghazali, was the brother of a Hezbollah commander, according to the Israel Defense Forces.
The attacker behind last week's deadly shooting at Old Dominion University pleaded guilty in 2016 to attempting to provide material support to ISIS. Two other ISIS-inspired terror suspects attempted to detonate explosives at an anti-Islam protest in New York City, with one of the suspects shouting "Allahu Akbar" during his arrest. A suspected gunman who nearly three weeks ago killed 2 and wounded 14 in a shooting in Austin, Texas, wore a sweatshirt that read "Property of Allah" and a shirt bearing the Iranian flag. Authorities found a Quran in the suspect's car and photos of Islamic Republic leaders in his apartment.
Also on Friday, new Iranian supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei, who assumed the position after his father's death in an Israeli strike, purportedly released a statement claiming that the Islamic Republic has built "a nationwide defensive front." Khamenei has not been seen in public since assuming his new role and is believed to have been severely injured in the raid that killed his father and other senior regime leaders.
Khamenei's written statement, disseminated through Iranian state-controlled television, claimed the Islamic Republic is "delivering such a bewildering blow that the enemy fell into contradictions and irrational statements."
The U.S. military is moving additional assets into the Middle East as operations expand. Two amphibious assault ships have already deployed to the region, along with 2,500 Marines, the AP reported, citing U.S. officials.
Israel has continued targeting Iran's senior political and military leadership. The IDF announced early Friday that a strike earlier this week killed one of the top commanders in the Iranian Ministry of Intelligence, Mehdi Rastami Sh'mastan.
Sh'mastan was considered "a key figure in promoting terrorist activities against Israeli and Jewish civilians around the world," the IDF said. "In recent years, he was responsible for advancing and executing terror attacks against key Israeli targets."
