Tanker strikes in Hormuz escalate war

Iran has warned that any further US attack will bring a response that is faster, heavier and more painful, after Washington struck three Iranian-linked oil tankers in a sharp escalation of the six-month war.

Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said the United States needed to recognize that the rules had changed. "The Americans must have understood that the era of proportionate responses has come to an end," he said in a speech carried by state media. "Any aggression against Iran's interests and security will receive a faster, more intense and more painful response."

The latest confrontation followed what US Central Command described as unsuccessful Iranian ballistic-missile attacks on two American warships, an aircraft carrier and a destroyer. CENTCOM then said it struck three tankers linked to Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. Two crude-oil carriers were disabled, while a third was destroyed in the Gulf of Oman after its crew was ordered to abandon ship.

The US military said the ships belonged to a multibillion-dollar shadow network that funds the IRGC and its regional proxies. CENTCOM commander Admiral Brad Cooper said Washington would impose an even greater economic cost after attacks on US ships.

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

Iran condemned the strikes as illegal and aggressive. The Revolutionary Guard said its naval forces had targeted three oil tankers using an unauthorized route through the Strait of Hormuz, as well as three US-affiliated vessels elsewhere. It later said it had attacked a US naval drone trying to enter the strategic waterway. Iran's Khatam-al Anbiya central military command warned that further US attacks would bring more severe retaliation.

The confrontation has intensified as a fragile ceasefire reached in June unravels. After military action paused for much of August, reciprocal strikes resumed and diplomatic efforts to revive the peace process showed little progress. Iran continues to blockade the Strait of Hormuz, through which about one-fifth of global oil supplies passed before the conflict, while Washington maintains a counter-blockade of Iranian ports and seeks to limit Tehran's oil exports.

US sanctions on entities linked to Tehran have also expanded as Washington tries to isolate Iran's economy and force a change in policy. Ghalibaf said Iran's main battle, alongside the military front, was now over production and people's livelihoods, including currency swings, inflation, unemployment and market management.

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