Iran Vows to Keep US Ships Out of Gulf

Iran has ruled out any United States military presence in the Persian Gulf, warning President Donald Trump against attempting to send American forces into the strategic waterway.

Iranian armed forces chief of staff Ali Abdollahi made the declaration on Saturday, as Washington and Israel threatened further strikes against Tehran.

“We will not allow US military ships in the Persian Gulf under any circumstances and at any time,” Abdollahi said, according to Iranian state television.

He added that Trump would never achieve his ambition of seeing American military forces enter the Gulf.

“The US president must dream of seeing the armed forces enter the Persian Gulf. He will take that dream to his grave.”

The warning followed comments by US ambassador to Turkey Tom Barrack, who said Washington could “absolutely” launch fresh strikes against Iran as early as this weekend.

Iranian forces have restricted shipping through the Strait of Hormuz since the war with the United States began on February 28. 

The narrow waterway is a major route for global energy supplies and connects the Gulf to international shipping lanes.

The United States has responded by imposing a counterblockade targeting Iranian ports and vessels.

Tehran has also required ships to obtain permission before passing through the strait and has repeatedly attacked vessels attempting to use a southern route near Oman’s coast.

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) claimed that several tankers trying to cross the waterway through a route it considers illegal had struck mines in recent days.

On Friday, the Guards reported that two supertankers carrying more than 4.5 million barrels of crude oil had been left stranded at sea after hitting mines in the strait.

“Their engine rooms were disabled by an explosion and a fierce fire,” the Guards said in a statement carried by their Sepah News website.

Before the conflict, the Strait of Hormuz handled about one-fifth of the world’s oil and gas supplies, making disruptions to shipping through the waterway a major concern for global energy markets.