Iran says US warships won't be allowed into the Persian Gulf 'under any circumstances'
Armed forces chief Abdollahi warned Iran can target any vessel in the region. Houthis claimed attacks on Aden as Brent crude hovered at its highest level since April.
Archive image · Photo: NASA / Wikimedia Commons, Public domain (cropped and resized)
Iran will not allow U.S. military ships into the Persian Gulf "under any circumstances and at any time," armed forces chief of staff Ali Abdollahi said Saturday, according to state media. He said Iran could target any vessel in the region. "The US president can only dream of their soldiers and military again entering the Persian Gulf," Abdollahi said.
The warning comes as President Donald Trump weighs new strikes. At a rally in Florida on Friday, he said the United States "may do another Epic Fury," referring to the massive bombing campaign that opened the war in February. An official with Iran's Revolutionary Guard dismissed U.S. threats as largely "for media consumption."
Tensions are spreading across the region. Yemen's Houthi rebels said they attacked a naval base and a military camp in the southern port city of Aden. Brent crude rose to about $117 a barrel, its highest level since April, after the Revolutionary Guard reported new attacks and mine strikes on tankers near the Strait of Hormuz. Those claims have not been independently verified.