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A senior Iranian official threatened on Sunday to respond faster and more intensely to U.S. offensives, after Tehran attacked U.S. warships in retaliation for bombings against Iranian oil tankers.
The parties are deadlocked in a diplomatic solution to the conflict in the Middle East, which began on February 28 with Israeli and U.S. attacks against Tehran.
"The Americans must have understood that the era of proportional responses is over," declared Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, secretary of the Iranian Supreme National Security Council, in a speech broadcast by Iranian media.
"Any aggression against the interests and security of Iran will receive a faster, more intense, and more painful response," he added.
The authority later said that Tehran will declare an area near the Strait of Hormuz a "no-go zone" in the coming days.
"It will begin along the line of the U.S. Navy blockade and will include sectors of the Gulf," specified Mohsen Rezai. "Any ship that enters this new zone will be included on a list of sanctions."
After more than a month of relative calm, hostilities resumed on August 30 when the United States bombed Iranian infrastructure in the strategic Strait of Hormuz.
Since Friday, both sides have been clashing mainly in maritime areas of the Gulf, where maritime traffic remains very limited, between the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz decreed by Iran and the encirclement of Iranian ports imposed by the United States.
Iran's Revolutionary Guards announced on Sunday that they attacked an unmanned U.S. military vehicle that was "trying to enter the protected zone" of the Strait of Hormuz.
The spokesperson for U.S. Central Command for the Middle East (Centcom), Tim Hawkins, called this claim a "total lie" and stated that no U.S. vessel has been attacked this Sunday.
- "An act of desperation" -
Iran maintains a defiant tone, but U.S. Secretary of Energy Chris Wright declared on Sunday on ABC's "This Week" program that Iranian authorities are trying to "cling to power."
"They know their nuclear program is coming to an end. Their navy has come to an end. Their air force has come to an end. They are clinging to power," he stated.
The Revolutionary Guards claimed to have struck on Saturday "three oil tankers that were making unauthorized crossings in the Strait of Hormuz and three U.S. ships in other areas," and warned other ships to avoid routes not approved by Tehran.
Tehran claims it acted in retaliation for U.S. bombings that targeted three Iranian oil tankers.
One of the ships was off Kharg Island, where Iran's main oil terminal in the Gulf is located; another in the south, near the Strait of Hormuz, and the third in the Gulf of Oman, the U.S. military detailed.
The Guards confirmed the U.S. attack and called it "an act of desperation in the face of the closure" of this strategic route for hydrocarbon trade.
Washington launched the bombings after a U.S. aircraft carrier and a destroyer "evaded multiple unprovoked Iranian attacks," according to the U.S. military, after ensuring that none of its soldiers were injured.
Ahead of the November midterm elections, President Donald Trump seeks to downplay the conflict and asserts that he prefers to focus now on an "economic war" against Iran, a country subjected to U.S. sanctions for decades.
The Republican maintained on Friday that his country only launches "targeted bombings" against Iran, and that it is not a war but "a military conflict because for us it is minor."
- Deaths in Lebanon -
The conflict, which leaves thousands dead and threatens the global economy due to rising oil prices, is also spreading throughout the Middle East with several fronts open.
In Lebanon, Israeli strikes launched on Sunday in the south of the country left at least seven dead, according to the Ministry of Health.
The Israeli military claimed to have responded to the launch of two drones by the Islamist movement Hezbollah against its soldiers. The Shiite movement has not claimed any attacks since June.
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun described these bombings as "a dangerous escalation" and asked the United States and the international community to act "urgently to stop these violations" of the framework agreement between both countries.
In Yemen, new fighting broke out between government forces and pro-Iranian Houthi rebels, leaving nearly 300 dead in the last few days.
[Publicidad]