Iran vows to keep US warships out of the Persian Gulf as Washington cuts embassy staff

Tehran rejects any return of US warships

Ali Abdollahi, chief of general staff of Iran's armed forces, said on Saturday, 24 October, that Tehran will not let US navy vessels back into the Persian Gulf or the waters around it. Iran's military says it is ready to fire on American warships. His remarks answered President Donald Trump, who told a rally in Florida on Friday, 23 October, that the US military "may do another Epic Fury", a reference to the heavy bombing campaign that opened the war. Trump has been weighing whether to end the conflict through large strikes on Iran or to keep up pressure through the naval blockade and sanctions, and he has not set a date for any action. Abdollahi argued that the US navy cannot re-enter Iranian waters because Iran can target any vessel in the region, and he said Washington's claim that Iran's military capacity has been largely destroyed contradicts its decision to keep aircraft carriers and support ships away from Iranian territory.

The US president can only dream of their soldiers and military again entering the Persian Gulf.

In a statement carried by state media on Saturday morning, Abdollahi said Iranian forces intended to trap the United States and Israel in a quagmire as payback for the attack that began the war on 28 February. He said the conflict, now nearing eight months, has pushed the whole region toward instability. He presented Iran's stance as a firm refusal to back down, even as the prospect of renewed fighting grows.

Shipping in the Strait of Hormuz

Iran claims control over the Strait of Hormuz, a waterway strategically important for global oil trade, and attacks ships that cross it without its approval. The Revolutionary Guard Corps said seven tankers were attacked or hit mines overnight into Thursday, 22 October, and on Friday it claimed that two supertankers had struck mines. The Guard also said its military doctrine has become more offensive. Brent crude rose to about $117, its highest level since April, as attacks in the strait and fears of renewed war pushed prices up. The United States is blockading Iranian ports, and although a ceasefire was agreed in April along with a framework deal, fighting around the strait continues. The Iran-allied Houthis in Yemen keep trading attacks with Saudi Arabia, hitting Riyadh again on Saturday and targeting the international airport in Dammam and the Shaybah oilfield.

US intelligence flags Iranian plots against officials

A memo dated 23 October from Director of National Intelligence Jay Clayton to Secretary of State Marco Rubio, first reported by Axios, says Iran has substantially stepped up efforts to target American personnel. It states that some lethal plots against US citizens have reached an advanced stage in the Middle East and in other countries. The one-page, unclassified memo does not name targets, countries outside the Middle East or the nature of the plots, and it says the underlying information has already been passed to senior State Department officials. Clayton has also offered to lower the classification of much sensitive intelligence so Rubio can share it with a wider group of staff who could be at risk. According to US officials cited by the New York Times, the Iranian plans include possible targets in Europe, while another official said Tehran's ambition to strike inside the United States and abroad exceeds its capacity to do so.

Embassy staff cut across the region

The State Department began reducing staff early in the week of 19 October, when it told family members of diplomatic personnel and non-essential employees to leave the US embassy in Riyadh and the consulates in Jeddah and Dhahran. On Friday, 23 October, it ordered a reduction of diplomatic and government personnel at US embassies in the United Arab Emirates, Lebanon, Qatar and Jordan. Washington had also told non-essential staff to leave the Gulf region before the war began, and it repeated that step in July before Trump called off a new wave of strikes. The department said it keeps assessing new information on the security situation when deciding how many people embassies need.

Trump weighs new strikes ahead of the midterms

Trump has not given a date for renewed military action. Reports cited by La Razon say Israel and the United States have drawn up plans for a possible new offensive against Iran after the 3 November midterm elections, with execution dependent on a decision by Trump. At the Florida rally, he said the US might carry out another small operation, or that Iran might back down and accept a deal. Until a decision is made, the naval blockade of Iranian ports and the sanctions remain in place, while Iran insists it will keep ships away from the Persian Gulf.