Iran threatened a faster and more punishing response to further U.S. attacks Sunday as the fallout from American strikes on Iranian oil tankers coincided with new Israeli operations against Hamas and Hezbollah targets.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom
Iran warned Sunday that additional U.S. attacks on its interests would trigger a faster and more severe retaliation, escalating threats between Tehran and Washington one day after American forces struck Iranian oil tankers in the Gulf.
Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf said Washington should recognize that what he described as the rules governing the conflict have changed “before it is too late.”
“From now on, any attack against Iran’s interests and security will receive a faster, heavier and more painful response,” Qalibaf said in remarks published on his Telegram channel.
The warning followed Saturday’s U.S. operation against three Iranian crude carriers, including the M/T Kylo, which U.S. Central Command said subsequently sank in the Gulf of Oman.
The latest exchange adds another layer of uncertainty to a regional confrontation that is increasingly extending across maritime, military and economic fronts.
CENTCOM had said the tanker strikes were carried out after Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps launched ballistic missiles toward U.S. Navy warships operating in regional waters.
The United States disabled two Iranian tankers and destroyed the Kylo.
By Saturday night, CENTCOM confirmed the Kylo had sunk, praising what it called the “precision and professionalism” of the American forces involved.
“Thanks to the precision and professionalism of American service members, the M/T Kylo sank in the Gulf of Oman today and joined Iran’s navy at the bottom of the sea,” CENTCOM said.
Qalibaf’s response Sunday indicated Tehran intends to increase rather than reduce the scale of retaliation if further Iranian interests are attacked.
His warning came as other fronts in the Middle East also saw renewed Israeli military activity.
Israeli forces said they apprehended 10 members of a Hamas cell accused of working to advance attacks against Israeli civilians.
According to the Israeli military’s account of the operation, troops initially discovered a rocket without a launcher.
During questioning, one of the suspects disclosed the location of a weapons cache, the IDF said.
Israeli forces subsequently found an M16 rifle along with a large quantity of explosives that the military said were intended to manufacture explosive devices.
The weapons and explosive material were dismantled at the location, according to the IDF.
The military described those detained as members of a Hamas cell preparing terrorist attacks, although the allegations remain based on the Israeli military’s account of the operation.
Israel simultaneously carried out strikes against Hezbollah personnel and infrastructure in southern Lebanon after accusing the group of attempting to attack Israeli troops with explosive drones.
The IDF said Hezbollah launched two drones toward soldiers operating in the area.
Israeli troops opened fire and intercepted one of them, according to the military.
No Israeli personnel were injured.
“ANOTHER BLATANT VIOLATION OF THE UNDERSTANDINGS,” the IDF said while describing the Hezbollah drone attack and subsequent Israeli response.
Israel said its retaliatory strikes hit Hezbollah operatives, weapons-storage sites and additional infrastructure in southern Lebanon.
Among the targets was a command center that the IDF said Hezbollah had established inside a building previously used as a hospital.
The military said Hezbollah members involved in artillery and surveillance activities had recently operated from the location.
Lebanese reporting described the building as the former Ghandour Hospital in Nabatieh al-Fawqa, which had reportedly been out of service.
Israel said the strikes were conducted “to remove threats posed by Hezbollah” and were a direct response to the attempted drone attack against Israeli troops.
The episode represents another flare-up along the Israel-Lebanon front, where tensions remain high despite previous understandings intended to reduce hostilities.
The separate developments involving Iran, Hamas and Hezbollah unfolded within hours of one another, underscoring the continued volatility across several interconnected regional fronts.
The most immediate escalation remains between Washington and Tehran.
Saturday’s tanker operation represented an expansion of U.S. military pressure from Iranian military systems to commercial maritime assets that CENTCOM says support the IRGC financially.
American officials have characterized the targeted vessels as part of a multibillion-dollar oil network used to finance the IRGC and allied groups.
Iran, meanwhile, has presented U.S. attacks on its maritime assets as an escalation requiring retaliation.
Qalibaf’s language Sunday suggested Tehran does not intend to match future American strikes proportionally.
Instead, he warned that subsequent responses would be “faster, heavier and more painful.”
The sinking of the Kylo gives that warning additional significance.
American forces had struck the unladen crude carrier at multiple critical points after its crew was directed to abandon ship.
CENTCOM initially described the tanker as completely destroyed and rendered inoperable.
Its subsequent announcement confirmed the vessel had gone beneath the surface in the Gulf of Oman.
The sinking turns what began as a retaliatory strike into the complete loss of one of the Iranian maritime assets targeted by the United States.
Meanwhile, Israel’s operations against Hamas and Hezbollah demonstrate that the broader regional security environment continues to involve several simultaneous military confrontations.
The alleged Hamas cell represents an internal security concern for Israel, with the IDF saying the group possessed firearms and substantial quantities of explosives.
The Hezbollah drone launch triggered a direct military response across the Lebanese border.
And the U.S.-Iran confrontation has increasingly centered on naval forces, oil shipping and the strategic waterways surrounding Iran.
Each development involves different actors and immediate causes, but together they show a region in which military pressure remains high despite repeated diplomatic efforts to contain individual conflicts.
Iran’s latest warning also raises the possibility of another cycle of retaliation if Washington conducts additional operations.
The United States has demonstrated that Iranian petroleum assets can be targeted as part of its response to attacks against American forces.
Iran is now publicly warning that similar actions will produce increasingly severe consequences.
Neither side indicated Sunday that it was preparing to step away from that posture.
At the same time, Israel continues operations against both Hamas and Hezbollah, with the IDF portraying its actions as necessary to prevent or respond to attacks on Israeli troops and civilians.
The result is a security environment spanning the Gulf, southern Lebanon and Israeli-controlled areas in which military encounters can rapidly produce retaliatory action elsewhere.
Qalibaf’s warning Sunday captured the direction of the U.S.-Iran confrontation most explicitly.
Washington’s tanker strikes were meant to impose a greater economic cost on Tehran after Iranian attacks against American warships.
Iran’s parliament speaker responded by warning that the next American attack would bring an even greater Iranian response.
“From now on,” he said, any attack on Iran’s interests or security would be answered more quickly, more heavily and more painfully.
Original article
Comments