Iranian leader warns of swifter, harsher response as US strikes intensify
Iranian parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf cautioned that the United States must expect a quicker, stronger and more painful retaliation as hostilities between the two nations mount.
Iran’s parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf told listeners that America must understand the changed “rules of the game” and should expect a faster, heavier and more painful response to any US attacks. His remarks followed a week of renewed combat after the United States struck Iranian oil tankers in retaliation for Tehran’s attacks on American warships, and after Iranian state media claimed its navy had hit a US remote-controlled vessel attempting to enter the Strait of Hormuz—a claim the US Central Command called a lie.
US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth warned on social media that any Iranian fire on US ships would be met by sinking their tankers. The 60-day cease-fire that had limited hostilities expired last month, and fighting has since spread to the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Kuwait and Jordan. President Donald Trump said the renewed fighting would not last “too long,” while diplomatic talks remain stalled.
Why it matters
The escalating exchange raises the risk of broader regional conflict and impacts global oil shipping routes.
How this story developed
- Jul 20 U.S. and Iran intensify air strikes over Strait of Hormuz, diplomacy stalls
- Sep 4 Vance is slated to speak on inflation and Iran at his first press briefing since July.
- Sep 4 The Treasury also added two Golden Global subsidiaries to the sanctions list.
- Sep 4 The Security Council is set to vote on extending the sanctions expert panel on September 17.
- Sep 5 Republican committees have filed a petition with the Supreme Court challenging the Fourth Circuit ruling.
- Sep 5 Trump said, "A lot of people don't call it a war. I call it a military conflict because it's small potatoes for us. It's not a big thing."
- Sep 5 U.S. forces hit launchers on Larak Island and Iran fired ballistic missiles at U.S. sites in Jordan and the United Arab Emirates.
- Sep 5 Vance publicly downplayed the reported civilian deaths from the alleged strike.
- Sep 5 No injuries or deaths have been reported.
- Sep 5 Eyewitnesses said the explosions shattered the wedding celebration in Kuhestak.
- Sep 5 U.S. Central Command announced the destruction of three Iran-linked oil tankers—M/T Downy off Kharg Island, M/T Stark 1 near Jask and M/T Kylo in the Gulf of Oman.
- Sep 6 Iran appealed to China, India and Russia for support at the SCO summit while Trump warned of further bombings.
- Sep 6 The UK regulator raised the energy price cap by 4%.
- Sep 6 He said Tehran’s response to US strikes would no longer be “proportionate”, adding that “the Americans have surely realised that the era of ‘proportionate responses’ has come to an end”.
In this story
Related stories
61 in this thread