Iran’s foreign minister warned the United States against any “adventurous action” and threatened decisive retaliation in separate telephone calls with senior Pakistani, Turkish and Saudi officials on Saturday, according to his Telegram account. Abbas Araqchi told Pakistan’s army chief, Field Marshal Asim Munir, and Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan that Tehran would respond decisively to any “aggression” and discussed the consequences of what he described as destabilising actions by Washington. In a subsequent call with Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan, Araqchi said any attack by the US or Israel, or participation by regional countries in such operations, would be met with a “proportionate response.”

The diplomatic warnings came hours after Kuwait’s military announced it had intercepted and destroyed hostile drones launched by Iran against several vital facilities; falling shrapnel damaged a government building and civilian property on Bubiyan Island but caused no casualties. A media outlet affiliated with Iran’s top security body, Nournews, separately declared that US strikes on Iranian energy infrastructure would trigger retaliatory attacks on oil fields in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, as well as gas fields in Qatar and Israel, warning that “all will be burned to ashes.”

President Donald Trump, speaking at Camp David on Friday, said he was losing faith in negotiations with Tehran and threatened to “hit them” if necessary, while insisting that US negotiators — including Jared Kushner, special envoy Steve Witkoff and Secretary of State Marco Rubio — could still secure a deal. US media reports subsequently indicated that Trump had ordered the Pentagon to prepare fresh strikes on Iran, possibly as soon as this weekend, though the final decision remained pending. The exchange of threats has kept global energy markets on edge: benchmark Brent crude futures rose 24 per cent in July, and the risk of Iranian attacks has deterred most commercial shipping through the Strait of Hormuz since US and Israeli forces began strikes on Iran on 28 February.

Further heightening maritime insecurity, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations reported two incidents off the coast of Oman on Saturday, including a tanker struck by an unidentified projectile that damaged its engine room. Iran-backed Houthi forces in Yemen have also intensified threats against shipping through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait. The diplomatic channel, though strained, remains open, but no concrete next steps have been announced by any party.