Tehran:Major General Ali Abdollahi, Chief of the General Staff of Iran's Armed Forces, has declared that Iran will never permit US warships to return to the Persian Gulf. Abdollahi emphasized that American forces would not dare to approach the waters of the region.

According to Islamic Republic News Agency, Abdollahi, who also leads the Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters, asserted that Iran's Armed Forces have rendered the US Navy ineffective, despite Washington's efforts to portray it as a symbol of American power. He criticized statements by US President Donald Trump and other officials about Iran's nuclear facilities and questioned the absence of US military activity near the Strait of Hormuz or Iran's borders if their claims were true.

Abdollahi further stated that the US president's aspirations of re-entering the Persian Gulf would remain unfulfilled. He affirmed that Iran's leadership and armed forces are resolute in pushing the United States and Israel into deeper difficulties of their own making. The strategy, he noted, is to ensure that a prolonged confrontation weakens Iran's adversaries.

In a related development, the Iranian Armed Forces closed the Strait of Hormuz to all traffic in July, following US air raids and a naval blockade imposed on Iran, actions which violated an existing agreement. The US and Israel initiated their first aggressive war against Iran in June 2025, followed by a second conflict beginning in February 2026, which ended after 40 days.