Iwakuni warns that providing any assistance to the U.S. military will be seen as participation in military actions against Iran.

Xinhua News Agency, Tehran, August 19 (Reporter Shadati, Chen Xiao) According to a report from the Iranian Tasnim News Agency on the 19th, the Chief of Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces, Ali Abdollahi, issued a statement that day, warning the countries on the southern shore of the Persian Gulf not to provide any facilitation to the U.S. military "in any way," stating that any assistance to the U.S. military would be regarded as participation in military actions against Iran.

In the statement, Abdollahi said that Iran is closely monitoring U.S. military bases in the region and warned countries hosting U.S. troops not to provide facilitation for U.S. operations. Abdollahi stated, "Those countries on the southern shore of the Persian Gulf, which claim through various statements that they do not allow the U.S. to use their territory to strike Iran, should be clear that nothing escapes our notice."

Abdollahi also reminded the governments of the region: "It seems unlikely that so many military aircraft, especially aerial refueling tankers, would appear at U.S. military bases without the host country's knowledge."