Iranian General Threatens Warships as Gulf Shipping Lane Sees New Attacks
Brent crude climbed to about $117 a barrel after seven tankers were struck in a 24-hour window around the Strait of Hormuz.
By Marco Whitaker ·
Iran's armed forces chief of general staff said on Saturday that US Navy vessels cannot return to Iranian territorial waters or their vicinity, saying Iran can strike any ship in the region. Ali Abdollahi's statement came after President Donald Trump told supporters at a Florida rally on Friday that the US military "may do another Epic Fury," a reference to the bombing campaign launched against Iran at the start of the war. Trump had raised the choice between ending the fight with massive strikes or letting the naval blockade and sanctions continue to pressure Tehran.
The Strait of Hormuz remains a combat zone. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps reported seven tankers struck mines or came under attack from late Wednesday into Thursday, and said on Friday that two supertankers hit mines. Brent crude settled near $117 a barrel, its highest price since April. Abdollahi said Iran intends to "drown" the US and Israel in a "quagmire" in answer for the February 28 surprise attack that opened an eight-month war.
The confrontation has widened beyond the Gulf. Houthi forces in Yemen struck Riyadh on Saturday, following recent attacks on Dammam's international airport and the Shaybah oilfield, while Saudi aircraft bombed Houthi-held Marib and Taiz. Israeli strikes were reported around Nabatieh in southern Lebanon, and artillery landed near Zawtar ash-Sharqiyah. In the occupied West Bank, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered a lockdown after a Palestinian attack in Hebron killed two soldiers; he faces an election on October 27.
Washington has reportedly told many of its diplomatic staff to leave Saudi Arabia, with others scheduled to depart additional countries in the region. Axios, citing US intelligence, reported on Saturday that Iran has "substantially increased" its efforts to target American officials in the Middle East and elsewhere. Iranian state-linked media and analysts said Tehran has activated a "dead hand" doctrine under which strikes on US, Israeli and regional targets could continue from all 31 provinces if senior leaders are assassinated again.
Mediated talks between Tehran and Washington have produced no movement. On Friday, diplomats from Turkiye, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Egypt met counterparts from the UK, France, Germany and Italy in Istanbul, without the US or Iran at the table. Turkiye's Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said a new attack on Iran "would widen the war and spread the conflict across the region," adding that "no one is endorsing it at this point." German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul blamed Iran and the Houthis for regional instability, while the four regional ministers said "Israeli occupation was the main source of instability."
Nour News, affiliated with Iran's Supreme National Security Council, said the Istanbul meeting exposed a "gap between diplomatic claims and realities in the field" and argued the US and European powers must concede first. The reformist Iranian daily Etemad suggested the "zero hour" for another intense round was approaching. Analyst Reza Nasri wrote on X that Iran "will no longer negotiate under bombardment" and will end the cycle "by all necessary means."
Abdollahi said the US president "can only dream of their soldiers and military again entering the Persian Gulf," and added that American claims about the destruction of Iran's military capabilities are undercut by Washington's refusal to move carriers and support ships closer to Iranian shores.
