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Iran and the United States are now contesting control of the waterway, through which a significant share of global oil and gas shipments passed before the war.
Iranian officials had previously warned that the conflict could expand geographically if US attacks resumed, but Thursday’s statement was the first time an adviser to the supreme leader explicitly referred to the Indian Ocean.
The Indian Ocean includes Diego Garcia, a strategic US-British military base located nearly 4,000 kilometres from Iran.
