In a menacing new escalation, Iran has issued a direct and chilling threat to strike American-linked oil infrastructure across the Gulf, warning it will turn key energy sites into “burning oil fields” if U.S. and Israeli operations continue.

Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei’s regime delivered the threat through IRGC channels, stating: “Any oil facility supporting the Zionist-American aggression will become a burning site. We have the coordinates. We have the capability. The Gulf will light up like a torch if the enemy does not retreat.”

The warning specifically targets oil terminals, refineries, and production facilities in Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Qatar linked to U.S. companies and military support bases. Iranian state media released ominous footage of missile tests and drone swarms flying over mock oil installations, sending a clear message that Tehran is prepared to weaponize the global energy market.

This threat comes as Iran expands its attacks beyond Israel. Ballistic missiles and drones recently struck U.S.-allied Arab states, while Iranian forces continue turning the Strait of Hormuz into a war zone with repeated tanker strikes. The Safesea Vishnu and other vessels have already been set ablaze in recent days.

The timing is devastating for Washington. The USS Gerald R. Ford remains crippled by repeated fires, the USS Abraham Lincoln is reportedly damaged and repositioning, and America has already burned through more than $11 billion in munitions in the first week of Operation Epic Fury. Critical radar systems worth billions have been destroyed, interceptor stocks are critically low, and Israel continues to suffer under relentless missile barrages that have left fires burning across its cities.

Analysts warn that any successful Iranian strike on major Gulf oil infrastructure could send global oil prices soaring past $150 per barrel, trigger a worldwide energy crisis, and cause catastrophic environmental damage.

What began as a confident U.S.-Israeli campaign to crush Iran has now put the entire global economy at risk. As Mojtaba Khamenei’s forces grow bolder and more precise, the question grows louder in Washington and allied capitals: Has Operation Epic Fury awakened a threat far more dangerous than the one it sought to eliminate?

The flames of war are inching dangerously close to the world’s most vital oil arteries. And Iran has just promised to light the match.