US moves diplomats out of region, Trump threatens new Iran operation

Iran will not allow US military vessels to enter the Persian Gulf “under any circumstances,” Armed Forces Chief of Staff Ali Abdollahi said on Saturday, according to the IRGC-affiliated Tasnim news agency.

“We will not, under any circumstances or at any time, allow US military vessels to enter the Persian Gulf,” Abdollahi said.

He claimed Iran’s armed forces had rendered the US Navy ineffective and said American forces were no longer able to approach waters around the Persian Gulf or Iran’s territorial waters.

“The US president can only dream of their military and army entering the Persian Gulf again,” Abdollahi said, Tasnim reported.

UK Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband said Friday that the Iran war and Tehran’s attacks on shipping were driving up energy and food bills and inflation in Britain, calling for diplomacy to bring the conflict to a lasting end.

“The Iran war and Iran’s attacks on shipping are raising energy bills, raising food bills, raising inflation,” Miliband told reporters in Istanbul, where he was attending talks with European and regional counterparts.

“Diplomacy, dialogue and de-escalation has to be the answer to this conflict,” he said.

“Frankly, this conflict has gone on too long. The British people have suffered too much from it, and we cannot afford months more of it,” Miliband added. The Istanbul meeting brought together foreign ministers from Britain, France, Germany and Italy with counterparts from Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Egypt.

UN Special Rapporteur on Iran Mai Sato said the war intensified repression inside Iran, with protesters portrayed as agents of hostile countries and executions continuing throughout the period, in a post on X Friday.

“The war not only failed to reduce the intensity of repression, but intensified it,” Sato said.

“What these reports have in common is impunity,” she said, referring to three recent UN reports on human rights in Iran. Sato said she was unaware of investigations by Iranian authorities into killings by their forces, while the United States and Israel had not published findings on their attacks.

She called for an end to hostilities through diplomacy, a halt to executions, the release of people detained for exercising their rights and independent investigations into deaths.

The United States is quietly moving some diplomats and family members out of posts in Lebanon, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Jordan as concerns grow over further regional escalation involving Iran, CNN reported Friday, citing multiple sources and a State Department official.

The State Department confirmed the four countries would see temporary staffing changes under “restricted operations,” but said the embassies had not formally changed status.

The moves have not been publicly announced and come after Washington ordered non-emergency personnel and all family members to leave Saudi Arabia in response to increased attacks by Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis.

CNN reported that some of those now leaving had only recently returned to their posts after being ordered out during the height of the Iran war.

The adjustments also come as President Donald Trump has suggested the United States could relaunch strikes against Iran after the midterm elections and Israel has unsuccessfully pushed for more immediate action, CNN reported.

QatarEnergy is in talks to buy up to 3 million metric tons of liquefied natural gas a year from Woodside Energy’s Louisiana LNG project as the Iran war continues to disrupt shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, Reuters reported Friday, citing three people familiar with the negotiations.

A potential agreement could run for 15 to 20 years, with LNG supplied from Woodside’s 16.5-million-ton-per-year Louisiana facility, which is under construction.

QatarEnergy has been buying LNG on the US spot market to meet customer commitments because the ongoing blockage of the Strait of Hormuz has sharply curtailed shipping, Reuters reported.

The talks come after Cheniere Energy agreed to supply QatarEnergy with 4 million tons of LNG annually under a long-term deal, split between its Sabine Pass facility in Louisiana and Corpus Christi terminal in Texas.

Reuters also reported Thursday that QatarEnergy was in advanced talks with Venture Global to buy at least 3 million tons of LNG annually under a long-term agreement.

US President Donald Trump said Friday that Washington may carry out another military operation against Iran.

“We may do another little Epic Fury,” Trump said at a rally in Fort Myers, Florida.

Earlier Friday, Trump said the United States could end the war quickly but questioned whether it should seek a swift conclusion or allow the conflict to gradually wind down.

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