Iran war live: Tehran says US military banned entirely from Gulf entry

Iran's armed forces chief of staff has declared that United States military vessels will be barred from entering the Gulf, sharpening the war of words between Tehran and Washington as the conflict that began in February grinds on.

Major-General Ali Abdollahi, Iran's top military commander, vowed that Iranian forces would not allow American warships into the Gulf "under any circumstances," according to Al Jazeera's live coverage on October 24.

In remarks aimed at US President Donald Trump, Abdollahi taunted Washington over its naval posture, questioning why America's "rusty warships" do not dare approach the Strait of Hormuz — the narrow waterway that carries a large share of the world's oil exports.

The threat lands at a perilous moment for commercial shipping. Iran has claimed that seven tankers were hit in the strait this month, and Al Jazeera reported that October has seen the highest number of attacks on commercial vessels there since the war began.

Washington has shown no sign of backing down. Trump signalled this week that the US could launch renewed strikes on Iran, saying Washington "may do another little Epic Fury" — an apparent reference to the earlier round of American attacks on Iranian targets.

The exchange of threats comes as diplomacy struggles to gain traction. European and Middle Eastern ministers met in Istanbul this week to press for talks, while the Saudi-led coalition said its air defences had intercepted a Houthi ballistic missile heading for the Saudi capital, Riyadh.