According to the Tehran Times, the escalating confrontation involving Iran, the United States, and Israel is beginning to extend beyond military targets, raising concerns that key economic structures across the region could soon become part of the battlefield.
On Wednesday, Iranian authorities signaled a possible change in their response strategy after reports emerged that a bank in Tehran was struck during overnight operations allegedly carried out by U.S. and Israeli forces. Iranian media outlets said several staff members inside the financial institution were killed during the strike, although officials have yet to provide a confirmed casualty figure.
Following the incident, Iran’s military command center, Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters, issued a stern warning suggesting that financial institutions linked to the United States and Israel could now be treated as legitimate targets. In a statement broadcast on state television, the command said the latest developments had effectively opened the door for retaliatory operations against economic assets. “The enemy has given us free rein to target economic centers and banks belonging to the United States and the Zionist regime,” the command said in a statement carried by Iranian state television.
The tensions stem from a wave of joint U.S.–Israeli strikes launched against Iranian positions on February 28. Since then, Tehran has retaliated by deploying missiles and drones toward Israeli territory and locations in neighboring countries believed to host American military bases.
Concerns are also mounting over the broader economic consequences of the fighting. Military actions targeting infrastructure tied to finance or energy could destabilize markets in a region that plays a critical role in global oil supply.
Meanwhile, incidents have been reported near the Strait of Hormuz, a strategic maritime route responsible for transporting a significant share of the world’s oil. Three commercial ships were recently hit by projectiles in the area. One vessel briefly caught fire but was later stabilized, and reports indicated that the crews survived the incident. Amid the rising tensions, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, president of Türkiye, urged all sides to de-escalate, warning that continued hostilities could ignite a wider regional crisis.