Iran’s top negotiator threatens a ‘faster, more intense’ response to US attacks

Iran’s top negotiator Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf has warned that Tehran will respond to future US attacks more quickly and with greater force, declaring that the era of proportionate retaliation is over.

“The Americans must have understood that the era of proportionate responses has come to an end,” Ghalibaf said in a speech carried by Iranian state media. “Any aggression against Iran’s interests and security will receive a faster, more intense and more painful response.”

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The Americans must have understood that the era of proportionate responses has come to an end.

Iran said its forces attacked a US naval drone attempting to enter the Strait of Hormuz on Sunday. The claim came hours after the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said its naval forces had targeted three oil tankers using what it called an unauthorized route through the strait, as well as three vessels affiliated with the United States in other areas.

The IRGC said the American unmanned surface vessel had attempted to enter the strait and warned ships against using routes it had not approved. The latest exchange followed US strikes on three oil tankers, which Washington said were linked to the Iranian Guards.

US Central Command said on Saturday that it had disabled the M/T Downy off Kharg Island and the M/T Stark 1 near Jask after Iran unsuccessfully fired at American warships. It said US forces also destroyed the unladen crude carrier M/T Kylo in the Gulf of Oman after directing its crew to abandon ship. CENTCOM released video showing fireballs and flames after projectiles struck the vessels.

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Any aggression against Iran’s interests and security will receive a faster, more intense and more painful response.

CENTCOM said the ships formed part of a multibillion-dollar shadow network funding the IRGC and its regional proxies. The Guards, however, said two American warships had been forced to retreat after suffering damage. CENTCOM rejected that account, saying the ships had successfully evaded the Iranian attacks.

The confrontation has unfolded during a six-month war and a deadlock between Washington and Tehran. Iran has maintained its hold over the strategic waterway, while Washington continues a counter-blockade of Iranian ports and sanctions intended to choke the country’s economy.

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Following Iran’s failed attacks, CENTCOM permanently disabled the IRGC crude oil carriers M/T Downy off the coast of Kharg Island and M/T Stark 1 near Jask.