Wars 2026 02/28 Israel-Iran War 3.0

[Saif]

Trump mocks popularity of the name Mohammad, common among Muslims

US President Donald Trump made a joke about the popularity of the name Mohammad in the Muslim world as he mocked Iran's presidency during a campaign speech on Friday. "You ‌know, if you're in doubt about somebody's name from the Middle East, just say 'Mohammad,'" Trump told a crowd in Dalton

thefinancialexpress.com.bd

Trump mocks popularity of the name Mohammad, common among Muslims

US President Donald Trump points as he leaves a campaign event in Dalton, Georgia, US on October 16, 2026. — Reuters photo

US President Donald Trump made a joke about the popularity of the name Mohammad in the Muslim world as he mocked Iran's presidency during a campaign speech on Friday.

"You ‌know, if you're in doubt about somebody's name from the Middle East, just say 'Mohammad,'" Trump told a crowd in Dalton, Georgia. "You have about a 65% chance. 'Hello, Mohammad.' I've done it for years now. I've never been wrong."

Mohammad is one of the most common male names among Muslims, who often name their sons after ⁠the Prophet Mohammad, believed by Muslims to be the final prophet.

Trump made the comment as he was discussing Iran during a rally in a hangar at Dalton Municipal Airport in Georgia, where he campaigned for Republican political candidates ahead of the November 3 midterm elections.

"Iran is the only country where nobody wants to be president," Trump said, then pretended to ask several people named Mohammad whether they wanted the job. Masoud Pezeshkian has been president of Iran since 2024.

The Georgia crowd gave the joke a muted response.

Rights advocates ‌and ⁠Muslim advocacy groups have repeatedly criticized Trump for rhetoric that they say demonizes and mocks Muslims, immigrants and ethnic minorities.

He has escalated such rhetoric during the midterm campaign season, particularly against Somali and Muslim Americans including Muslim Democratic US Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed and Representative Ilhan ⁠Omar, a Minnesota Democrat who came to the US as a Somali refugee.

Trump repeated his vow that Iran would never get a nuclear weapon, seven months after the United States and Israel ⁠launched a war on Tehran aimed in part at crippling its nuclear program.

An annual report by the Council on American Islamic Relations released earlier this year attributed rising ⁠Islamophobia in the US in part to Trump's crackdown on immigration and pro-Palestinian protests during his second term.​

 

[Saif]

Iran will not ‘bow’ to foreign aggression, Pezeshkian says

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian says his country will not “bow down to the excesses of aggressor countries”. “We will not allow the enemies to covet our country’s soil, just as we do not covet the soil of other countries,” he said during a meeting to review the qu

thefinancialexpress.com.bd

Iran will not ‘bow’ to foreign aggression, Pezeshkian says

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian Source: Reuters/File

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian says his country will not “bow down to the excesses of aggressor countries”.

“We will not allow the enemies to covet our country’s soil, just as we do not covet the soil of other countries,” he said during a meeting to review the qualifications of the proposed minister of defence, according to the news agency ISNA.​

 

[Saif]

Two "violating" oilers caught fire after hitting naval mines in Hormuz Strait: IRGC

Iran's Islamic Revolution Guard Corps (IRGC) said two "violating" oil tankers caught fire on Tuesday after hitting naval mines laid by its naval forces in the Strait of Hormuz, as its Foreign Ministry spokesperson said the country will not let any strike against it go unanswered. In a statement pu

thefinancialexpress.com.bd

Two "violating" oilers caught fire after hitting naval mines in Hormuz Strait: IRGC

Iran's Islamic Revolution Guard Corps (IRGC) said two "violating" oil tankers caught fire on Tuesday after hitting naval mines laid by its naval forces in the Strait of Hormuz, as its Foreign Ministry spokesperson said the country will not let any strike against it go unanswered.

In a statement published on its official news outlet Sepah News, the IRGC said the oil tankers sought to cross the strait through the "illegal" route south of the waterway when they collided with the mines, warning that attempting to cross the mined path in the strait is "illegal" and will result only in the burning of the "violators' assets."

The IRGC added that in another operation, its air defense forces shot down a U.S. MQ-9 Reaper drone Monday night over the Strait of Hormuz, noting that its forces are constantly monitoring the situation in the region and will continue to exercise sovereignty and management over the strait.

Also on Tuesday, Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said the country will not let any strike against it go unanswered and will respond with equal or greater force.

At a weekly press conference in Tehran, Baghaei rejected claims circulating on social media over the past few days that the United States had sent a message announcing its intention to attack Iran's Pickaxe Mountain, which is claimed to be linked to the country's nuclear program.

Baghaei said Iran has demonstrated over the past two years that the era of "hit and run" is over, dismissing suggestions that Iran would refrain from retaliating as "fantasies."

Baghaei also added that no talks were held between Tehran and Moscow on the details of the former's nuclear issue during Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov's recent visit to Iran.

In an interview with Newsmax on Thursday night, U.S. President Donald Trump said the United States may have to target Iran's Pickaxe Mountain, stressing that Washington seeks to ensure that Tehran will not develop nuclear weapons​

 

[Saif]

Trump says US may launch another military operation against Iran

President Donald Trump said on Friday the US may carry out another military operation against Iran just as the Iran war nears its eight-month mark and rising fuel prices weigh on the US midterm elections. "We may do another little Epic Fury," Trump told a rally in Florida, using the US military's

thefinancialexpress.com.bd

Trump says US may launch another military operation against Iran

US President Donald Trump boards Air Force One to depart en route to Clarksville, Tennessee, at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, US, Oct 10, 2026.
Source: REUTERS/Eric Lee


President Donald Trump said on Friday the US may carry out another military operation against Iran just as the Iran war nears its eight-month mark and rising fuel prices weigh on the US midterm elections.

"We may do another little Epic Fury," Trump told a rally in Florida, using the US military's term for its war on Iran. He did not elaborate.

Trump said earlier in the day the US could end the war quickly but questioned whether Washington should seek a swift conclusion or allow the conflict to gradually wind down.

Trump, who has offered shifting goals and timelines for the war, has said in recent campaign remarks that the war will end soon, "one way or the other."

He said this month the US would not launch an attack on Iran before the November 3 elections that will determine control of Congress, where Trump's Republican Party holds a narrow majority in both chambers.

The US and Israel attacked Iran on February 28, and Iran responded with its own strikes on Israel and Gulf states that host US bases. US-Israeli strikes on Iran and Israeli attacks on Lebanon have killed thousands and displaced millions.

The war has raised oil and gas prices around the world.

Tehran plans a wider retaliation if the war resumes, Iranian officials said.

Iran has drawn up detailed plans to target undersea communications cables in the Gulf if the US and Israel attack Iran again, according to two senior Iranian security officials.​

 

[Saif]

https://www.newagebd.net/post/middle-east/319455/us-military-not-allowed-to-enter-gulf-iran

US military not allowed to enter Gulf: Iran
Iran to target Americans, US spy chief warns

Agence France-Presse . Tehran, Iran

Iran said on Saturday that US military ships would never be allowed to enter the Gulf ‘under any circumstances’ and President Donald Trump will ‘take that dream to his grave’.

The remarks came amid mounting US and Israeli threats of renewed attacks on Iran, as US ambassador to Turkey Tom Barrack warned that Washington could ‘absolutely’ strike Iran as soon as this weekend.

‘We will not allow US military ships in the Persian Gulf under any circumstances and at any time,’ said Iran’s armed forces chief of staff Ali Abdollahi, according to Iranian state television.

‘The US president must dream of seeing the armed forces enter the Persian Gulf. He will take that dream to his grave.’

Iran has ‘substantially increased’ its efforts to target Americans in the Middle East and beyond, US national intelligence chief Jay Clayton warned on Friday.

The warning comes after Washington ordered non-essential US embassy staff and their families to leave Saudi Arabia this week, following increasing attacks from Yemen’s Houthis.

The kingdom has come under near-daily attacks this month from the Iran-backed group, including a strike on Riyadh’s international airport that was the kingdom’s deadliest in years.

‘We have received intelligence that Iran has substantially increased efforts to target US personnel,’ Clayton said in a memo sent to Secretary of State Marco Rubio, according to a US official.

‘The lethal plotting efforts by the Iranians against US citizens have reached advanced stages in both the Middle East and certain other countries,’ said the memo, which was first reported by Axios.

Washington previously ordered non-essential staff to leave the Gulf ahead of the start of its war against Iran and again in July before US President Donald Trump called off a new wave of strikes.

The US official said: ‘When it comes to our staffing at embassies, we constantly evaluate new information about the security environment.’

‘The threat of Houthi attacks and of Iranian terror plots targeting US officials are informing our decisions,’ the official added.

Trump suggested on Friday that the US might launch renewed military operations against Iran.

‘We may do another little Epic Fury’ Trump said, referring to the US name for its attacks on Iran. He did not give any indication on timing.

Iranian President Massoud Pezeshkian will meet his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in Moscow next week, Iranian media reported.

Pezeshkian is due to visit Russia for a meeting of gas-exporting countries.

‘The Iranian president will visit Moscow to attend the summit of gas-exporting countries that will take place on Tuesday October 27,’ the Tasnim news agency reported, citing Tehran’s ambassador to the country, Kazem Jalali.

The two leaders will discuss economic cooperation as well as ‘questions of geopolitics’, Jalali was quoted as saying.

Meanwhile, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said Saturday that many Iranians were struggling to put food on the table, as the economic pressure from the Middle East war with the United States mounts.

‘There are many people in this society who are struggling to put food on the table because of the war we have found ourselves in, because of the wartime conditions we are living under,’ Pezeshkian said in a speech shared on his website.

Pezeshkian called for an end to what he described as a ‘state of neither war nor peace’, saying Tehran ‘must also get out of this situation’, without specifying how.

His remarks came as fears of renewed fighting grew. On Friday, US ambassador to Turkey Tom Barrack said US strikes on Iran could resume as soon as this weekend.​