Iran threatens to 'expel' US from region as Tehran links Hormuz reopening to troop exit

TEHRAN, IRAN: Iran has warned it will seek to driveAmerican forces will be driven out of the Middle East if Washington refuses to withdraw, tying the future of the strategically important Strait of Hormuz to a wider demand for a US military exit. 

Iranian Army spokesman Mohammad Akraminia issued the warning on Friday, October 16, as President Donald Trump continued to portray Tehran’s military as severely weakened and ruled out using nuclear weapons in the conflict.

Tehran threatens to 'expel' US

Akraminia outlined Iran’s position in a post on X, arguing that a US withdrawal would allow shipping through the Strait of Hormuz to resume and enable regional countries to take collective responsibility for security.

“If America leaves the region, the Strait of Hormuz will reopen and collective security will be established with the participation of the region’s countries, and the global economy will improve,” he wrote.

He followed that proposal with a threat directed at Washington: “If it doesn't leave, we'll expel it.”

Akraminia also challenged the American assessment of Iran’s military strength.

In remarks carried by Mehr News Agency, he said the country’s air defence capabilities had improved compared with their condition before and during the war, rejecting claims by Trump that US military action had severely weakened Iranian forces.

Trump rules out nuclear weapons, weighs further strikes

Trump said he would not use nuclear weapons against Iran, even as reports emerged that US military planners had prepared options for renewed strikes on Iranian targets.

In an interview with Newsmax on Thursday, Trump discussed the GBU-43/B Massive Ordnance Air Blast bomb, widely known as the “Mother of All Bombs", stressing that the weapon was conventional rather than nuclear.

“The mother of all bombs is not nuclear,” Trump said, describing it as an exceptionally large bomb.

“I wouldn’t use nuclear. We don’t have to,” he added. 

Reports citing US officials said potential strike plans could involve Iranian nuclear sites and energy infrastructure, with operations considered for a period either before or after the November 3 midterm elections. 

Earlier, Trump had also argued that US military strikes had stripped Tehran of much of its ability to wage war.

“They don't have a Navy, they don't have an air force, their army is decimated, their leaders are gone,” Trump told the crowd during a campaign rally in Montana on Wednesday, adding that Iran was no longer “the bully of the Middle East”.

Trump further pointed to the difficulties he believed Iran faced in negotiations, saying successive levels of its leadership had been lost during the fighting.