Iran said on October 24 that US military ships will never be allowed into the Persian Gulf, as Washington and Israel threaten renewed strikes in a war that has been ongoing since February 28. The US Iran strike threats have raised fears of a further escalation in the conflict.
Iran’s armed forces chief of staff, Ali Abdollahi, said the US would never be allowed to put military ships in the Persian Gulf under any circumstances, and that President Trump would "take that dream to his grave," according to the Straits Times.
US ambassador to Turkey Tom Barrack warned that Washington could "absolutely" strike Iran as soon as this weekend, the Straits Times reported.
Trump said at a Florida rally on Friday, "We may do another little Epic Fury," according to Dawn, but gave no details on when another operation might begin. Dawn gives no date for the rally beyond "Friday."
An ABC News report said US and Israeli military forces had drawn up options for renewed joint strikes, likely after the midterm elections, citing two Israeli sources. The White House disputes that timing. White House spokesperson Anna Kelly told ABC News the US "will not be attacking Iran at any time prior to the midterm elections." Dawn reports that the reports do not establish that Trump has ordered an attack.
The Strait of Hormuz has been at the centre of the conflict. According to the Straits Times, Iranian forces have restricted traffic through the strait since the war broke out, and the US has imposed a counterblockade on Iranian ports and ships. The Revolutionary Guards said on October 23 that two supertankers carrying more than 4.5 million barrels of crude were abandoned at sea after hitting mines in the strait. These figures are Revolutionary Guards claims and have not been independently confirmed. The strait normally carries around a fifth of the world’s oil and gas in peacetime, according to AFP as cited by the Straits Times.
Separately, Channel8 reported that Washington alerted Iraqi Prime Minister Ali Faleh al-Zaidi to a planned strike on Iran in the coming days, and that al-Zaidi warned armed groups against intervening. This report reached readers through an aggregator, and only a headline and short excerpts are available. US officials have not confirmed the warning. Iraq’s Coordination Framework-backed government is trying to keep the country neutral, and Nujaba and Kata’ib Hezbollah reportedly refuse to surrender their weapons.
Public opinion in the US is also divided. A Pew survey conducted from September 28 to October 4 among 5,062 US adults found 65 per cent disapproved of Trump’s handling of the military action against Iran, and 33 per cent approved. An AP-NORC poll found about seven in 10 registered voters wanted the next Congress to make ending the Iran war a top priority. US midterm elections are on November 3.
It remains unclear whether Trump will pursue renewed strikes, negotiations, or maintain his current position. The midterms and congressional pressure may shape that decision.
Several gaps remain. No source addresses the US embassy, and no Iranian or US official response to Barrack’s "this weekend" remark goes beyond the quoted statements. No Gulf state military responses are covered in any source.
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This article was written with AI assistance from the published reporting listed above. It is part of the World Brief daily news podcast.