Shafaq News- Tehran

Iran will prevent US forces from returning to the Gulf or using regional waters to threaten the country, Major General Ali Abdollahi, commander of the Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters, said Saturday, claiming that US naval power had been "neutralized."

Speaking to reporters in Tehran, Abdollahi criticized US President Donald Trump's recent remarks on Iran's nuclear program, arguing that claims of destroyed Iranian nuclear facilities contradicted Washington's insistence that Tehran must be prevented from acquiring nuclear weapons. He added that Iran would continue its confrontation with the United States and Israel.

Separately, Washington has tightened security measures across the Middle East and reduced staffing at some diplomatic missions amid concerns about potential Iranian attacks on American diplomats and officials in the region, Axios reported.

Citing an October 23 memorandum sent to US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, the outlet said Jay Clayton, director of national intelligence, had urged officials to lower the classification of sensitive intelligence wherever possible, allowing Rubio to share it more widely with personnel potentially at risk. The memorandum did not identify targets or detail the alleged operations but indicated that the intelligence had already been shared with senior State Department officials.

The New York Times raised similar concerns, citing US officials who described the threat to Americans in the region as the highest since the war began in February. Although the officials assessed Iran's ability to carry out attacks inside the United States as limited, they said intelligence suggested that Iranian operatives might be present in the country, with potential targets also extending to Americans in Europe.