The clashes, which began with US raids last week, occur amid a deadlock in the six-month Iran-US war. Iran maintains its stranglehold on the Strait of Hormuz while Washington runs a counter-blockade of Iranian ports and pushes sanctions to choke Iran's economy. Ghalibaf declared "the era of proportionate responses has come to an end”, warning any aggression will draw "a faster, more intense and more painful response”.

Tehran's security chief Mohsen Rezaei said Iran would establish a "prohibited zone" near the strait, starting from the US Navy's blockade line and including parts of the Persian Gulf. Ships entering it would be placed on Iran's sanctions list. On Saturday, US Central Command said Iran unsuccessfully fired at an American aircraft carrier and destroyer. In response, the US struck three oil tankers linked to Iran's Revolutionary Guards, described by CENTCOM as part of a "multibillion-dollar shadow network" funding the Guards and their proxies. Iran retaliated by targeting three tankers on the strait's "unauthorized route" and three US-affiliated vessels elsewhere, warning ships not to transit routes Tehran hasn't approved. Iran's Guards also claimed to have attacked a US naval drone, a claim CENTCOM rejected as "a complete lie”. CENTCOM commander Admiral Brad Cooper warned: "If you shoot at two of our ships, we will impose an even higher economic cost." The Trump administration has downplayed the conflict's significance before approaching midterms, with Vice President JD Vance saying he "wouldn't call it a war" and Trump calling it "small potatoes." Energy Secretary Chris Wright claimed Iran is "clinging on to power," insisting its nuclear program, navy, and air force are effectively finished. A fragile ceasefire collapsed in July after attacks on commercial ships in the strait, through which one-fifth of world oil supplies once flowed. Trump has repeatedly threatened US sovereignty over the strait, posting a map showing it as "new US territory." Vance insists Washington won't reopen talks until Iran stops attacking commercial shipping. (Bssnews)