Maj. Gen. Ali Abdollahi says Washington will never be allowed to send military vessels into the Persian Gulf, while IRGC spokesman Brig. Gen. Hussein Mohebbi predicts Iran will emerge from the confrontation with the United States and Israel as a global superpower.

TEHRAN -- Iran’s armed forces chief of staff declared on Saturday that the United States will never be permitted to send military vessels into the Persian Gulf, as the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps’ spokesman simultaneously warned that the current confrontation with Washington and Israel amounts to an “apocalyptic war” that Iran will win and emerge from as a global superpower.

Chief of the General Staff of Iran’s Armed Forces and commander of the Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters Major General Ali Abdollahi said U.S. naval forces are no longer capable of approaching the waters surrounding the strategic waterway, despite Washington’s portrayal of its navy as the pinnacle of American power.

“We will not allow U.S. military ships in the Persian Gulf under any circumstances and at any time,” Abdollahi said. “The U.S. president must dream of seeing the armed forces enter the Persian Gulf. He will take that dream to his grave.”

The remarks came amid mounting U.S. and Israeli threats of renewed attacks on Iran. Washington’s ambassador to Turkey, Tom Barrack, warned that the United States could “absolutely” strike Iran as soon as this weekend.

Iran has restricted traffic through the Strait of Hormuz since the war with the United States broke out on February 28, and Washington has imposed a terrorist blockade on Iranian ports.

On Friday, the IRGC said two supertankers carrying more than 4.5 million barrels of crude oil were abandoned at sea after hitting mines in the strategic waterway.

Abdollahi also challenged repeated claims by U.S. President Donald Trump that Iran’s nuclear facilities have been destroyed, while Washington continues to insist Tehran must not possess nuclear weapons.

“If you have destroyed everything, then what is the meaning of repeating this delusion?” Abdollahi said, describing the statements as contradictory and intended to mislead public opinion, particularly in the United States.

He asked why, if Washington is certain it has eliminated Iran’s military capabilities, its warships do not dare approach the Strait of Hormuz or Iran’s maritime and land borders.

He said Iran’s strategy is to ensure that the longer the confrontation continues, the deeper its enemies sink into “a quagmire of death and decline”.

Separately, IRGC spokesman Brigadier General Hussein Mohebbi, speaking at a ceremony in Qazvin province on Saturday, described the confrontation as an “apocalyptic war” with consequences extending beyond Iran’s borders and affecting the fate of other nations.

“By God’s permission, our destiny in this apocalyptic war is absolute victory, and, God willing, we will become the world’s superpower,” Mohebbi said. He said Iranian society must understand the circumstances, maintain national cohesion and rely on domestic capabilities to determine its fate “consciously and responsibly”.

Mohebbi said the confrontation with the United States and Israel extends beyond the military sphere to encompass identity, culture, religion and Iranian-Islamic civilization.

He said Washington and Tel Aviv seek to weaken and fragment Iran by undermining its identity, erasing its culture and replacing it with their own values.

“Today, we must defend Iran’s territorial integrity, culture, national and religious identity, and civilization,” he said.

Trump said this month his administration was considering using the MOAB (Mother of All Bombs) against Iran, while insisting the weapon is conventional and not nuclear. CNN reported that U.S. military planners had drawn up options including the MOAB for strikes on Iranian energy and nuclear infrastructure.

Iran’s Defense Minister Mehrdad Akhlaghi said Tehran has “thought out the necessary measures” to confront the MOAB threat. “He [Trump] should be thinking about how to get his forces out of our region safely,” Akhlaghi said.

“If he drops one bomb, he should see how many of his forces he would have to carry out horizontally.”

Army Deputy Commander Brigadier General Alireza Sheikh said “the father of bombs is the Iranian nation,” adding that the armed forces are “finger on the trigger” ready to respond to any threat.

Trump has repeatedly threatened to annihilate Iran. In his September 22 address to the UN General Assembly, he said he faced a choice: “Do I annihilate the Islamic Republic and do it quickly, never giving them a chance to kill and destroy people and countries again? Do I drive them into hell with no chance of survival and no hope of future greatness?”

Iran’s UN envoy, Gholamhussein Darzi, later wrote to the Security Council that Trump had “openly threatened the Islamic Republic of Iran, a founding member of the United Nations, with destruction” from the UN platform.

Darzi also cited earlier Trump statements, including an April 7 post that “a whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again,” and threats to destroy Iran’s bridges and power plants.