Iran“Another Epic Fury”: Trump Floats a Second Campaign, Tehran Says US Warships Will Never Enter the Gulf, and US Intelligence Warns of Advanced Plots
Day 239 in one line: the American president named the operation he might repeat, the Iranian military named the waters it would close to the US Navy, and American intelligence warned that Iran’s plots against US officials had moved closer to execution.
"Another Epic Fury"
Trump told a rally in Fort Myers, Florida, on Friday night, US time, that the United States may do another Epic Fury — the bombing campaign that opened the war on February 28 — if Iran does not reach an agreement, and said Tehran had already lost significant military capacity. He said he was weighing a deal against action to finish Iran off, said he had no information on an envoy’s suggestion of action this weekend, and floated having US warships returning from the region stop near Cuba. The pledge of no strikes on Iran before November 3 has not been withdrawn.
"Under Any Circumstances"
Iran’s armed forces chief of staff, Ali Abdollahi, said US military ships would not be allowed to enter the Gulf "under any circumstances" and that Trump would take that dream to his grave, saying Iran can target any vessel in the region. The IRGC navy claimed two more supertankers, said to be carrying more than 4.5 million barrels combined, struck naval mines in the southern Strait of Hormuz while using a route it does not recognise, and were left disabled. The claim was not independently confirmed. Nour News, affiliated with Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, said the US and European powers must make concessions first, after Thursday’s Istanbul meeting.
"Advanced Stages"
Axios, citing US intelligence, reported that Iranian authorities had substantially increased efforts to strike American officials in the Middle East and beyond, with some plots at advanced stages; US officials confirmed the assessment, which is shaping embassy staffing decisions. CNN reported the US was moving diplomats and families from several Middle East posts. Separately, Iran said it had not suspended its nuclear safeguards obligations, and Iran, Russia and China were among twelve states that condemned attacks on nuclear facilities.
Saudi Arabia and Yemen
The Saudi-led coalition said it intercepted a Houthi ballistic missile aimed at Riyadh early Saturday and two more aimed at Taif and Yanbu, the Red Sea oil hub through which much of Saudi crude now bypasses Hormuz, and downed a drone. Saudi airstrikes hit Sanaa and the surrounding governorate, according to the Houthis’ Al-Masirah. The Houthis said they attacked Saudi Arabia and Aden in response, and spokesman Yahya Saree repeated that Riyadh’s King Khalid Airport remains a military target. Britain’s foreign secretary said the war had gone on too long.
Status Assessment
Tracker status holds at WAR RESUMED. Day 239 sharpens the rhetoric on both sides without changing the facts: Trump talks of repeating Epic Fury after the election, Iran vows to keep the US Navy out of the Gulf, and US intelligence describes Iranian plots nearing execution. The no-strike pledge stands, Iran’s tanker claims remain unconfirmed, and the Houthi-Saudi war continues at daily intensity. No ceasefire is in force. The midterms are ten days away.