Iran says US military will not be allowed into the Gulf ‘under any circumstances’

Iranian armed forces chief of staff Ali Abdollahi said US military ships would never be allowed into the Persian Gulf and that President Donald Trump would take the dream to his grave. The remarks came as US and Israeli threats of renewed strikes against Iran mounted, with US ambassador to Turkey Tom Barrack saying Washington could strike as soon as the weekend. Since the war began on February 28, Iran has restricted traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, while the United States has imposed a counterblockade on Iranian ports and ships. The Revolutionary Guards said mines had hit several vessels in the strait, including two supertankers carrying more than 4.5 million barrels of crude oil.