Iran says won’t allow US warships to get close as Trump ponders new attacks
Iran's armed forces have threatened to fire on US warships as President Donald Trump contemplates new military operations against the country amid rising tensions in the Middle East.
Tehran, Iran – Iran's armed forces have declared they are prepared to fire on United States warships as President Donald Trump announced Washington was still considering new attacks or continued pressure on Iran. Trump told supporters at a rally in Florida on Friday that the US military "may do another Epic Fury," referencing the extensive bombing campaign against Iran at the start of the war.
The US president had earlier questioned whether to end the conflict quickly through massive attacks on Iran or maintain pressure on Tehran through a naval blockade and sanctions. Meanwhile, Ali Abdollahi, chief of general staff of the Iranian armed forces, asserted that the US Navy cannot re-enter Iran's territorial waters or its periphery due to Iran's capability to target any vessel in the region.
Military Escalation
"The US president can only dream of their soldiers and military again entering the Persian Gulf. They will take this wish to the grave for good," Abdollahi said in a statement carried by state media on Saturday morning. He also pointed out a contradiction in US rhetoric about the war, claiming that US assertions about Iran's military capabilities being mostly destroyed were contradicted by Washington's refusal to bring its aircraft carriers closer to Iranian territory.
Abdollahi added that Iranian forces were determined to "drown" the US and Israel in a "quagmire" in retaliation for their surprise attack on Iran on February 28, which started an eight-month war and destabilized the entire region.
Iran has reached its verdict. It will no longer negotiate under bombardment, honour agreements the other side treats as optional, or accept the killing of its children and the penury of its people as routine instruments of policy.
Regional Instability
Vessels in and around the Strait of Hormuz continue to be attacked by Iran, driving up oil prices to their highest since April at about $117 per barrel. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) reported that seven tankers were attacked or hit mines overnight into Thursday, and later claimed two supertankers struck mines on Friday.
The Iran-allied Houthis in Yemen have continued exchanging attacks with Saudi Arabia, hitting Riyadh again on Saturday and targeting the international airport in Dammam and the Shaybah oilfield in recent days. Saudi forces have responded by bombing Marib, Taiz and several other Yemeni provinces under Houthi control.
In southern Lebanon, Israeli air attacks were reported around Nabatieh and artillery fire near Zawtar ash-Sharqiyah on Friday. Iran has linked this front to its war with the US and Israel, previously demanding any ceasefire with Washington also cover Lebanon.
Diplomatic Efforts
Mediated negotiations between Iran and the US have not produced results, but regional and European powers held a coordination meeting in Istanbul on Friday. Top diplomats from Turkiye, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Egypt met with the United Kingdom, France, Germany and Italy, with neither the US nor Iran participating.
"We agree that a new attack on Iran would widen the war and spread the conflict across the region," Turkiye's Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said after the meeting. "Military intervention in Iran is by no means a solution. No one is endorsing it at this point."
The four regional countries issued a joint statement stating "Israeli occupation was the main source of instability in the region and beyond," while supporting the Islamabad memorandum of understanding signed in June and demanding unrestricted passage through the Strait of Hormuz.
Related
