Iran warns it will intensify response to US attacks

Iran’s chief negotiator warned Sunday that Tehran would answer US attacks with greater speed and force, hours after Iranian forces reported striking American warships and other vessels in and around the Strait of Hormuz.

“The Americans must have understood that the era of proportional responses is over,” Mohamad Baqer Qalibaf 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 proportional responses is over.

The statements came as diplomatic efforts to end the conflict remained stalled. The confrontation began on Feb. 28 with Israeli and US attacks on Tehran, according to the report. After more than a month of relative calm, hostilities resumed on Aug. 30, when the US military bombed Iranian infrastructure in the strategic strait.

Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said early Sunday that they had attacked an unmanned US military surface vessel that was trying to enter a protected area of the strait. They also said they had struck three oil tankers making unauthorized crossings and three US vessels elsewhere, warning other ships to avoid routes not approved by Tehran.

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

The US military said Saturday that it had attacked three Iranian oil tankers. One was near Kharg Island, home to Iran’s main oil terminal in the Gulf; another was south of the strait; and the third was in the Gulf of Oman. Iranian state television correspondents said the strikes caused no deaths and that crews from the targeted installations had been evacuated to shore.

Washington said it launched the attacks after a US aircraft carrier and destroyer “evaded multiple unprovoked Iranian attacks,” adding that no American personnel were injured. Brad Cooper, commander of US Central Command, said, “If they attack two of our ships, we will impose an even greater price, attacking three of theirs.” The Revolutionary Guards called the US strikes an act of desperation in response to Iran’s closure of the strategic energy-trading route. Israeli strikes in Lebanon also killed four people and wounded 20, the description said.

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If they attack two of our ships, we will impose an even greater price, attacking three of theirs.