Iran Vows to Fire on US Warships as Trump Weighs Another ‘Epic Fury’
Iran’s military chief warned Saturday that American warships will never again enter the Persian Gulf, raising the temperature as President Trump weighs whether to resume large-scale strikes on the Islamic Republic.
“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,” Maj. Gen. Ali Abdollahi said in a statement carried by state media, Al Jazeera reported.
Abdollahi mocked US claims that Iran’s military has been largely destroyed, asking why American carriers have not moved closer to Iranian waters. He said Iran is determined to drown the US and Israel in a “quagmire.”
A Revolutionary Guard spokesman, Brig. Gen. Hossein Mohebbi, said that if attacked, Iran “will achieve absolute victory in this apocalyptic war,” according to state-run Press TV. He said the fight would decide the fate of Gulf monarchies.
The threats followed Trump’s remark at a Florida rally Friday that the US military “may do another Epic Fury,” a reference to the bombing campaign that opened the war on Feb. 28.
Tom Barrack, the US ambassador to Turkey, said in an interview Friday that a strike could come within days. “Could there be a strike this weekend? Absolutely,” Barrack said.
Other reporting points to a later timeline. The Atlantic reported that Trump is considering several days of renewed strikes after the midterms, though US officials stressed no decision has been made.
Tankers Under Fire
The Revolutionary Guard navy claimed Friday that two supertankers using what it called an unauthorized route south of the Strait of Hormuz hit naval mines, caught fire and were abandoned. Those claims have not been independently confirmed.
The IRGC said the ships carried more than 4.5 million barrels of crude. Separately, the British maritime agency UKMTO said an outbound tanker was struck by an unknown projectile Thursday near Limah, Oman, Africanews reported.
October has been the worst month on record for attacks on shipping in and around the strait, with 28 incidents so far and 113 since the war began, Reuters reported, citing Noam Raydan of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy.
Raydan said Iran is trying to slow the recovery in shipments and keep pressure on energy markets ahead of the Nov. 3 elections. Brent crude has climbed to about $117 a barrel, its highest since April.
The State Department is also reducing staff at its embassies in Jordan, Lebanon, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, citing threats from Iran and the Houthis, the Associated Press reported. The posts remain open, and officials denied the moves signal imminent strikes.
The US naval blockade, meanwhile, is squeezing Tehran. Iran’s oil stored at sea outside the blockade fell from about 135 million barrels to under one million by Oct. 5, Kpler analysts estimated, Iran International noted.
Adm. Brad Cooper, head of US Central Command, said Thursday the blockade has kept Iran from exporting at least $25 billion worth of crude over 100 days.
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