Iran's IRGC suggests war could expand if US, Israel launch fresh attacks

Major Gen. Ali Abdollahi, the chief of staff of the armed forces of Iran, insisted Saturday that the country's military would respond quickly to any attacks. 

"Whenever signs of hostile enemy action are confirmed, the armed forces will not wait for the start of his action in choosing the time and manner of response," he wrote on X. 

"With all informational capacity, we monitor the enemy's movements and preparations and update the target bank," Abdollahi added. 

He made the remark in response to a call from Iranian Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei to confront any threat "with an immediate, effective, and unrestricted geographical response." 

Iran’s foreign minister Abbas Araghchi told Al Jazeera on Saturday that Tehran currently has no plans to meet with U.S. officials for talks aimed at ending the war.

“We see no need to meet with the Americans at present. Our conditions are clear, and mediators are continuing their consultations regarding them,” Araghchi reportedly said, adding, “What is being circulated in this regard is merely media speculation.”

The remarks come after an official told Reuters Saturday that Iranian negotiators are meeting with Qatari mediators in Doha.

The Qatari team has been in frequent contact with the U.S. during the discussions, Reuters cited an official briefed on the negotiations as saying.

Negotiators from Iran are in Doha, Qatar, on Saturday for talks with Qatari mediators aimed at ending the U.S.-Iran war, according to Reuters.

The Qatari team has been in frequent contact with the U.S. during the discussions, it cited an official briefed on the negotiations as saying.

The official added that Saturday's talks come after more than 12 hours of negotiations in Tehran, Iran, on Friday.

The U.S. launched Operation Epic Fury against Iran on Feb. 28.

Saudi Arabia's vice minister of foreign affairs Waleed ElKhereiji said Saturday that people "want to bring peace back to the region" during the U.S.-Iran war. 

ElKhereiji made the remark during the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) Manama Dialogue in Bahrain, where he added that efforts were being made to prevent a military escalation and reach an agreement that ends the conflict with Iran. 

“If you look at… the efforts that everybody is trying to do, the message is very clear," ElKhereiji said, according to The Associated Press. "People in this part of the world want to bring peace back to the region." 

The Associated Press contributed to this post. 

U.S. Central Command released a new image Saturday of a F/A-18 Super Hornet jet on the flight deck of the USS George H.W. Bush during nighttime operations.

The aircraft carrier has operated in the Middle East in support of the U.S. military's blockade on Iranian ports.

CENTCOM Commander Adm. Brad Cooper said this week that "since day one, America's sons and daughters, serving in the Middle East, have shown relentless commitment, dedication, and courage.

"It's been the honor of a lifetime to serve alongside them and recognize them for the tremendous accomplishments on behalf of the nation," Cooper added. "As their commander, I could not be prouder, and I know that the families, friends, loved ones, and the American people back home share in this pride."

The Trump administration warned Iran that there "will be consequences" if Tehran continues its malign activities amid growing concern over a potential new round of U.S.-Iran hostilities after the midterm elections.

With just days until the 2026 elections and with war raging on in the Middle East, foreign ministers from the world's largest economies gathered in Atlanta, Georgia ahead of the G20 leaders meeting in December.

"The Iranian regime has had a choice... to either pursue the path towards normalcy, towards prosperity for their people, the path towards diplomacy. Or they can continue their malign activities, but there will be consequences for that, and we've seen the president taking concrete action," State Department principal deputy spokesperson Tommy Pigott told Fox News Digital on Friday.

Pigott was responding to reports that U.S. officials have warned regional partners to prepare for the possibility of heightened U.S. military action against Iran after Tuesday's elections, as well as potential Iranian retaliation.

President Donald Trump has not made a final decision on renewed strikes, but U.S. diplomats and defense officials have privately urged several Middle Eastern countries and regional allies to prepare for the possibility of new military action and Iranian retaliation, according to an Associated Press report citing two diplomats briefed on the warnings.

Saudi-led coalition spokesperson Maj. Gen. Turki al-Malki said Saturday that Saudi Arabia's air defenses "intercepted and destroyed a hostile drone in the Riyadh region." 

Al-Malki added that fragments from the drone fell "without injuries."  

The incident comes as the Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen have been launching attacks against Saudi Arabia. 

A Republican member on the House Armed Services Committee told Fox News Digital ahead of the midterm elections that the Trump administration has a key decision to make on the future of the U.S.-Iran war as "continuing to do just enough not to lose, but not enough to win, is not OK."

Rep. Pat Harrigan, R-N.C., made the comments as Vice President JD Vance declared during a Fox News town hall on Thursday that he promises "Donald Trump is not going to let Iran become a forever war." Official and military sources also told Fox News this week that movements are being made in the Middle East to give the president options if he decides to resume strikes against Iran.

"I share my constituents and many Americans' perspective that I'm very, very frustrated that this war is not over. The way that ultimately this administration went about conducting the war, it needed to execute it and wrap it up in a very short period of time, and we are not there yet," said Harrigan, who is running for re-election in North Carolina's 10th Congressional District.

"That being said, Iran can't have a nuclear weapon. And so at the end of the day, I do believe that this was a war that was inevitable at some point, but the party that's in power and the administration that decided to pull the trigger on it is responsible for the outcome, and they're responsible for the outcome in a very short period of time. Otherwise, things get really, really difficult," Harrigan continued. "And I think we've been seeing that, both from a political perspective but also from a policy perspective."

"And so while the administration needs to wrap this up, we are not in a forever war, but we need to make sure that we're not... we keep the mission the same. We accomplish the mission. And we do what it takes to either win or come home," Harrigan added. "And that binary decision has to get made by this administration."

Egypt's Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty said Saturday he is "extremely worried" that a new escalation in the U.S-Iran war would have a major impact, a report said. 

"The second round will be more dangerous, more destructive, and it will lead to nowhere. We have to draw lessons from the past," Abdelatty said while speaking at the International Institute for Strategic Studies' (IISS) Manama Dialogue in Bahrain, according to Reuters. 

Official and military sources told Fox News on Wednesday that movements are being made in the Middle East to give President Donald Trump options if he decides to resume strikes against Iran.  

When asked by a reporter about the possibility of the U.S. striking Iran after November's midterms, Trump said late Tuesday, "I can't tell you that... but anything's possible." 

A supertanker carrying more than 2 million barrels of oil caught fire Friday after hitting a naval mine in the Strait of Hormuz, Iran’s Revolutionary Guard said, according to state media.

It was the fourth oil tanker to suffer an explosion Friday after using unauthorized routes through the strait, the Guard said, according to The Associated Press.

Tehran has repeatedly said vessels must receive permission before traveling through the Strait of Hormuz.

Iran warned last month that vessels traveling through the strait without permission risked "destruction."

Yesterday's Fox News Digital live blog offers additional coverage of the conflict with Iran.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Mohammad Akraminia, the spokesperson of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), suggested Saturday that the war could expand in the Middle East if the Trump administration pursues new military action against Tehran. 

"If the President of the United States once again embarks on another reckless adventure in the region by threatening and cajoling the Zionists, there is no doubt that the fire of war will engulf a broader geographical expanse, and the end of the war will not be in his hands," Akraminia wrote on X. 

"Given the American president's dark history of betraying diplomacy, the Islamic Republic of Iran's army, distrustful and indifferent to the enemy's actions, is relentlessly enhancing its combat readiness," Akraminia added. "We are closely monitoring America's movements in the region." 

The remarks come after U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) commander Adm. Brad Cooper said in a video released Friday that he recently flew over the Strait of Hormuz and observed no presence of the IRGC. 

"After we sank Iran's navy earlier this year, we also successfully cleared the strait's internationally recognized primary transit routes of Iranian sea mines," Cooper also said. 

Official and military sources also told Fox News this week that movements are being made in the Middle East to give the president options if he decides to resume strikes against Iran.