Iran Military Chief Vows to Bar US Warships From Persian Gulf
Iran’s armed forces chief of staff Abdollahi says US warships will not be allowed into the Persian Gulf, as Tehran’s spokesperson says Iran needs no permission to defend itself.
ERBIL (Kurdistan24) - Iran’s Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces and Khatam al-Anbiya commander, Mohammad Bagher Abdollahi, said on Saturday that Iran will not allow US warships to enter the Persian Gulf again under any circumstances.
In a message on Saturday, Abdollahi said Iran’s armed forces have managed to weaken the US naval force. He explained that the force Washington displays as the summit of its power in the region and the world no longer has the ability to approach the waters of the Gulf and Iran’s maritime borders.
Abdollahi stressed that US President Donald Trump must bury the dream of his country’s soldiers and army entering the Gulf again.
According to Abdollahi, Iran will not allow US warships into those waters under any circumstances.
He described as meaningless and contradictory Trump’s claims about destroying Iran’s nuclear facilities.
“Those statements are used only to deceive world public opinion and the American people, because if they are sure they have destroyed all of Iran’s military capabilities, then why do their ships not dare to approach the Strait of Hormuz and Iran’s borders?” Abdollahi said.
Laying out his country’s position toward the US and Israel, Abdollahi said Iran’s leadership has decided to drown the US and Israel in the quagmire they created themselves.
He concluded that Iran’s strategy is to prolong the confrontation, which he said will push the US further toward decline and death.
Mohajerani: Iran needs no permission to defend itself
Iranian government spokesperson Fatemeh Mohajerani said on the same day that Tehran does not seek permission from any force to defend itself, and that the country’s armed forces are tasked with protecting Iranian territory.
In a speech on Saturday, she said aggressors should know that no decision to attack will come without cost and consequences, because no assessment of Iran is accurate if it ignores the country’s defensive capability and its people’s will.
Mohajerani said Iran’s enemies talk of destroying the country’s capabilities, as though they could erase a civilization from human history with a single decision.
She described those claims as a sign of arrogance and ignorance of Iran’s history, saying those who make threats have never known Iran and cannot realize such fantasies.
She stressed that US officials and Israeli authorities should know that Iran’s fate is not written by their will, and that the Iranian people will not give up their independence and right to self-determination. Repeating threats, she said, does not change that reality.
On Iran’s position on the war, the spokesperson said: “We know the bitterness and pain of war, and we work for peace responsibly. But no one needs to read this position as hesitation in defense. Protecting the country’s territorial sovereignty and independence is a fundamental duty in which we will never be negligent.”
Mohajerani reiterated: “Our position is clear. We neither shy away from dialogue for peace, nor do we hesitate in defending our country. Those who harbor the fantasy of destroying Iran must review their assessments, because Iran cannot be erased from geography and the history of the world.”