Representative image. Official Navy Page from United States of America Alex R. Forster/U.S. Navy, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
Why it matters
Any new round of strikes would hit India through oil prices, the rupee and the safety of millions of Indians who live and work in the Gulf. Flights to Saudi Arabia are already cancelled, and Indian seafarers have been told to avoid ships passing through Hormuz.
US President Donald Trump has said the United States may carry out “another little Epic Fury” against Iran if Tehran does not agree to a deal, reviving the name of the operation that started the war in February. He spoke at a campaign rally in Florida on Friday, 23 October 2026, hours after a US envoy said a strike could come as early as this weekend. Iran’s officials have said in recent days that any attack would be answered with equal or greater force.
What Trump said about another Epic Fury
“We may do another little Epic Fury, or they’ll agree,” Trump told the rally, according to Hindustan Times, which cited Fox News. He added that if Iran’s leaders were smart they would agree to talk business, but that he doubted they would.
Earlier on Friday, Tom Barrack, the US ambassador to Turkey, was asked in a podcast interview with Mario Nawfal whether there could be a strike that weekend. “Absolutely,” he replied, while also saying that Trump was open to a deal and that the two sides had been at the table for months. Barrack leads US work on Syria and has no direct role in Iran policy, Hindustan Times reported.
When a reporter put Barrack’s comment to him and asked whether he had dropped his plan to hold off until after the US midterm elections on 3 November, Trump said he knew nothing about it. “That was my ambassador? He’s a pretty powerful man, I guess,” he said. The same day he also spoke of US warships returning from the Gulf and stopping off the coast of Cuba, The Times of India reported.
How Iran has responded to the Epic Fury threats
NewsPlainly could not find a direct response from Iran’s government to the latest Trump Iran warning in reports published up to Saturday morning. Iranian officials did set out their position earlier in the week.
At his weekly press conference in Tehran on Tuesday, foreign ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said any attack on Iran would be met with an equal or greater response, and called the idea that Iran would not hit back a fantasy, National Herald reported. On Wednesday, Yadollah Javani, deputy head of political affairs of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), Iran’s elite military force, said Iran could target seven major internet cables under the Strait of Hormuz if its own infrastructure were attacked, Reuters reported, as carried by The Times of India.
The Strait of Hormuz is the narrow sea lane between Iran and Oman that tankers use to carry oil and gas out of the Gulf. Reuters also noted that less than 1% of international internet bandwidth passes through it, so the global effect of cutting those cables could be limited.
Washington has signalled concern of its own. A US intelligence memo addressed to Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Iran had stepped up efforts to target American diplomats in the region, Axios reported, according to Business Standard. The US has ordered non-essential staff out of Saudi Arabia and cut staffing at its embassies in Jordan, Lebanon, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), the Associated Press (AP) news agency reported.
Epic Fury so far: a short timeline
- 28 February 2026: US and Israeli strikes on Iran begin under Operation Epic Fury. Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is killed, Hindustan Times reported.
- 7 April: a ceasefire begins, Al Jazeera reported.
- 13 April: a US naval blockade of Iranian ports starts.
- 5 May: Rubio declares the operation concluded.
- May: India suspends Iran Air passenger and cargo flights, The Hindu reported.
- 23 October: Trump says the US may do “another little Epic Fury”.
The blockade is still in place, and indirect talks continue through Pakistan and Qatar without a breakthrough, according to National Herald.
What the Iran tension means for India
India is not a party to the dispute, but the fallout already reaches Indian homes, wallets and workers. The table brings together figures from several reports this week. None of them is a forecast.
| Area | Latest fact | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Oil | Brent crude futures about $115 a barrel on 23 October, against $109.9 a week earlier | Business Standard |
| Rupee | Closed at 94.93 to the dollar on 23 October, down 12 paise | Press Trust of India, via The Federal |
| Flights | IndiGo’s Riyadh flights cancelled till 31 October; Jeddah, Dammam and Madinah till 27 October; Air India and Air India Express till 24 October; Akasa till 27 October | Indian Embassy, Riyadh |
| Indians in Saudi Arabia | About 2.74 million, told to follow safety advisories and take shelter indoors during aerial attacks | Indian Embassy, via Free Press Journal |
| Seafarers | 10 Indian seafarers killed in West Asia up to 30 July; regulator told firms to avoid placing Indians on ships through Hormuz | Rajya Sabha reply; Directorate General of Maritime Administration, via Hindustan Times |
Oil is the biggest channel. The global benchmark rose about 5% in the week to 23 October, and NewsPlainly explained earlier how Brent crude above $110 puts pressure on petrol and diesel prices in India. A weaker rupee makes the same barrel cost more in rupees.
Travel to the Gulf is already disrupted for the 2.74 million (27.4 lakh) Indians in Saudi Arabia and their families. The Indian Embassy in Riyadh said on 23 October that it was working with airlines and tour operators to bring back stranded pilgrims, and advised Indians who need to leave urgently to look at routes through neighbouring countries. One Indian was killed in a drone and missile attack on Dammam airport on Wednesday, as NewsPlainly reported, and another in an attack on Riyadh’s airport on 10 October.
India’s own ties with Iran are also being tested. On 23 October, External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal denied Iranian media reports that India had refused to carry life-saving medicines to Iran. “We remain in contact with our Iranian counterparts to facilitate the transport of life-saving medicines as a humanitarian gesture,” he said, according to The Hindu, adding that the conflict had made air links between the two countries harder.
What to watch after the Epic Fury warning
The next fixed date is the US midterm vote on 3 November. Reporters had asked Trump whether he had dropped a plan to wait until after it, and Barrack’s comment that a weekend strike was possible remains unconfirmed by the White House. Iran’s response, as its officials have framed it, is tied to whether its own territory is attacked.
For India, the measures to track are the price of Brent crude, the rupee, airline schedules to Saudi Arabia and any new advisory from the embassies in the Gulf.
Frequently asked questions
What did Trump say about Epic Fury?
At a rally in Florida on 23 October 2026, Trump said the US may do "another little Epic Fury" against Iran unless it agrees to a deal.
What was Operation Epic Fury?
It was the US and Israeli military operation against Iran that began on 28 February 2026. A ceasefire started on 7 April and the US declared the operation concluded on 5 May.
How has Iran responded?
Iran's foreign ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said this week that any attack would be met with an equal or greater response, and an IRGC official said undersea cables in the Strait of Hormuz could be targeted.
Are flights from India to Saudi Arabia cancelled?
Yes, on several routes. IndiGo's Riyadh flights are cancelled until 31 October and its Jeddah, Dammam and Madinah flights until 27 October, the Indian Embassy in Riyadh said.