Tehran [Iran], August 19 (ANI): Iran's Armed Forces Chief of Staff, Major General Ali Abdollahi, on Wednesday warned that countries on the southern shores of the Persian Gulf should not assist or facilitate US military forces, saying Tehran is closely monitoring military activity at regional bases, according to an official statement cited by IRIB.
"The countries on the southern shores of the Persian Gulf, which have issued various statements declaring that they will not allow the United States to use their territories against Iran, should know that nothing is hidden from our eyes," Abdollahi said on X, according to IRIB's Telegram channel.
He also alleged that the presence of "military aircraft" stationed at regional bases cannot be without the "knowledge of the host countries."
"It seems unlikely that this amount of military aircraft, especially refueling aircraft, would be stationed at regional bases without the knowledge of the host countries," he said.
"We warn: Any assistance or facilitation to the aggressive US army is tantamount to participation with US military forces," Abdollahi added.
His warning comes as Iran continues to closely monitor US military activity in the region.
Abdollahi was recently appointed Chief of Staff of Iran's Armed Forces by Supreme Leader and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, Ayatollah Mojtaba Hosseini Khamenei.
On August 10, Khamenei appointed six senior commanders to key positions in the General Staff of the Armed Forces, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, and the Basij Resistance Force. In separate decrees, Abdollahi was appointed Chief of Staff, while Kioumars Heydari was named Deputy Chief of Staff.
With the conflict between the US and Iran dragging on for months now, the Pentagon is evaluating its military footprint in West Asia, aiming to reduce its presence. The Washington Post reported on Tuesday (local time), citing eight officials familiar with the matter.
As per the report, the analysis, according to officials and others familiar with the matter, was not yet a formal review and will include whether to rebuild bases battered by strikes.
A key area being assessed by the Department of War is whether to pull back troops from the Persian Gulf, where America's large overseas military bases have been battered by months of Iranian strikes, two people familiar with the ongoing analysis said.
According to the Post, the damage to these facilities has prompted a once-in-a-generation chance for the Pentagon to reconsider its presence in the region. The Department of War has already signalled that it might not rebuild its bases as they were before the conflict.
The development comes as the Pentagon has publicly estimated that the war's cost will reach about USD 37.5 billion by the end of September, The Washington Post reported, but that amount does not account for the money it will take to rebuild bases in the region.
Meanwhile, as reported by Al Jazeera, US President Donald Trump has asked his negotiating team to hold off talks with Iran until Tehran is "ready to make a deal", adding that there was no conflict within the administration's position on diplomatic engagement with Tehran.
The official told Al Jazeera that the US had been engaged in "positive talks" with Iran, but Trump had "decided to wait" before proceeding further.
"There is no conflict" in the US administration's approach towards talks with Iran, the official added. (ANI)
"Any assistance is tantamount to participation": Iran warns Gulf states against helping US forces
