Iran says US warships will not enter Gulf

Iran's armed forces chief of staff Ali Abdollahi said Saturday that Tehran would not allow US military ships to enter the Persian Gulf under any circumstances, Iranian state television reported.

The remarks came amid US and Israeli threats of renewed attacks on Iran. US ambassador to Turkey Tom Barrack warned that Washington could strike Iran as soon as this weekend.

“We will not allow US military ships in the Persian Gulf under any circumstances and at any time,” Abdollahi said, according to state television. He also said President Donald Trump would “take that dream to his grave”.

Iranian forces have restricted traffic through the Strait of Hormuz since war with the United States broke out on February 28. The United States has imposed a counterblockade on Iranian ports and ships.

Tehran has required vessels to seek permission to transit Hormuz and has repeatedly targeted ships attempting to pass through a southern route close to Oman, according to the supplied account. Iran's Revolutionary Guards said several tankers using that route had hit mines in recent days.

On Friday, the Guards said two supertankers carrying more than 4.5 million barrels of crude oil had been abandoned at sea after hitting mines in the waterway. They said the ships' engine rooms were disabled by an explosion and fire.

In peacetime, around a fifth of the world's oil and gas passed through Hormuz.