Persian Gulf Dispute: Iran Orders US Navy Out as Crude Tops $117

Ali Abdollahi, the chief of general staff for Iran's armed forces, declared on Saturday morning that the United States Navy is barred from re-entering Iranian territorial waters or their immediate surroundings. Speaking via state media, Abdollahi stated that Tehran can target any vessel in the region and that American leaders could only dream of their soldiers returning to the Persian Gulf. This directive comes as President Donald Trump indicated to supporters at a Florida rally on Friday that the US military might launch another "Epic Fury" campaign, a reference to the initial large-scale bombing operations against Iran.

The military chief also criticized American rhetoric as contradictory. He argued that Washington claims to have largely destroyed Iran's military capabilities, yet it has refused to move its aircraft carriers and support ships closer to Iranian territory. Abdollahi said Iranian forces intend to drown the US and Israel in a quagmire in retaliation for the surprise attack on February 28, which initiated an eight-month war that unsettled the region.

Shipping lanes around the Strait of Hormuz remain under active attack, driving Brent crude to approximately $117, its highest level since April. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps reported that seven tankers were attacked or hit mines overnight into Thursday. On Friday, the group claimed that two supertankers struck additional mines. The IRGC stated that its doctrine has shifted toward a more offensive posture.

Washington has reportedly ordered many diplomatic staff to leave Saudi Arabia, with others expected to depart from other regional countries. On the battlefield, the Iran-allied Houthis in Yemen struck Riyadh on Saturday, following recent attacks on Dammam's international airport and the Shaybah oilfield. Saudi forces responded by bombing Houthi-held areas in Marib and Taiz.

In southern Lebanon, Israeli air strikes hit areas near Nabatieh, while artillery landed near Zawtar ash-Sharqiyah. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who faces an election on October 27, ordered a lockdown of the occupied West Bank after a Palestinian attack killed two soldiers in Hebron.

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

Diplomatic talks between Tehran and Washington have stalled. On Friday, senior diplomats from Turkiye, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, and Egypt met counterparts from the UK, France, Germany, and Italy in Istanbul without the US or Iran 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.