“Now It’s Our Turn”: Iranian Hardliner Urges Direct Strike on US Naval Fleet After Attacks on Nuclear Sites

According to Saed News, Hossein Shariatmadari, the influential editor-in-chief of Iran’s Kayhan newspaper, has responded defiantly to the recent US-led airstrikes targeting nuclear facilities in Isfahan and Qom, urging Tehran to deliver a forceful military response.

, Shariatmadari declared, “Now it’s our turn.” He advocated for the immediate missile bombardment of the US Navy’s Fifth Fleet stationed in Bahrain — calling it a “first step” — and demanded that Iran close the Strait of Hormuz to all American, British, German, and French vessels.

Citing a Quranic verse calling for resistance against oppressors, Shariatmadari added: “Kill them wherever you find them.”

The remarks come just hours after US and Israeli forces carried out strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities at Fordow, Isfahan, and Qom, prompting growing calls within Iran’s political elite for a severe counterattack.

Shariatmadari, known for his proximity to the Supreme Leader and his long-standing advocacy of uncompromising policies toward the West, has often framed Iran's confrontation with the US and Israel as part of a broader existential struggle.

His statement is the most explicit call yet from a senior media figure for direct military retaliation on American assets in the Persian Gulf, further raising concerns over an uncontrollable regional escalation.

As tensions spiral and rhetoric hardens, observers warn that any military engagement involving the US Fifth Fleet or the Strait of Hormuz — a key oil chokepoint — could carry enormous global economic and geopolitical consequences.

The Iranian government has not officially endorsed Shariatmadari’s remarks, but their publication in a state-affiliated newspaper underscores the intensity of public and institutional anger in Tehran.