Iran Threatens Ships, Trump Mulls More Strikes

Iran's armed forces say they are prepared to fire on US warships, while President Donald Trump told supporters in Florida that the military "may do another Epic Fury," referring to the bombing campaign that opened the war with Iran. The statement from Iran's chief of general staff, Ali Abdollahi, arrived Saturday morning through state media, one day after Trump's Friday rally comments.

Abdollahi said the US Navy cannot return to Iranian territorial waters or the area around them because Iran can reach any vessel there. "The US president can only dream of their soldiers and military again entering the Persian Gulf," he said. He also argued that Washington's claims about degrading Iran's military capacity ring hollow, since the US has not moved aircraft carriers and support ships closer to Iranian shores. He said Iranian forces intend to "drown" the US and Israel in a "quagmire" over the February 28 attack that started the eight-month war.

The Strait of Hormuz remains a target. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps reported seven tankers hit or struck mines overnight into Thursday, and on Friday said two supertankers struck mines. Brent crude rose to about $117 a barrel, the highest price since April. The IRGC says its doctrine is now more offensive. Washington has reportedly told many diplomatic staff to leave Saudi Arabia, with departures from other regional countries planned.

Elsewhere in the region, Houthi forces in Yemen struck Riyadh on Saturday after attacks on Dammam's international airport and the Shaybah oilfield, while Saudi forces bombed Houthi-held areas including Marib and Taiz. Reported Israeli air strikes struck near Nabatieh in southern Lebanon and artillery landed near Zawtar ash-Sharqiyah. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who faces an election on October 27, ordered a lockdown of the West Bank after a Palestinian attack killed two soldiers in Hebron.

Iranian state-linked media and analysts say Tehran has activated a "dead hand" doctrine that would allow attacks on US, Israeli and regional interests to continue from all 31 provinces if senior leaders are killed again. The IRGC has threatened seabed internet and communication cables if civilian infrastructure is struck again. Axios, citing US intelligence, reported Saturday that Iran has "substantially increased" efforts to target American officials in the Middle East and elsewhere.

Mediated talks between Tehran and Washington have produced no progress. On Friday, diplomats from Turkiye, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Egypt met counterparts from the UK, France, Germany and Italy in Istanbul, without US or Iranian officials present. 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." The meeting addressed passage through the Strait of Hormuz, which the regional ministers demanded remain unrestricted.