Iran’s top negotiator on Sunday threatened a more forceful response to any further U.S. attacks after Tehran targeted American warships in its latest round of clashes.
asserted
Tehran → threaten → clashes
The exchanges of fire, which began with U.S. raids last week, come amid a deadlock in the six-month war between the two foes.
asserted
which → begin → foes
Iran has maintained its stranglehold on the strategic Strait of Hormuz while Washington continues a counter-blockade of Iranian ports.
asserted
Washington → maintain → ports
Washington is also seeking to choke Iran’s economy, rolling out sanctions on entities with financial links to the Islamic republic in a bid to force it into submission.
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Washington → seek → submission
Iranian parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, who has acted as chief negotiator in talks to end the war, said Sunday that “the era of proportionate responses has come to an end.”
asserted
era → act → end
“Any aggression against Iran’s interests and security will receive a faster, more intense and more painful response,” he added, in a speech carried by state media.
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he → receive → media
Tehran’s top security chief, meanwhile, said Iran would establish a “prohibited zone” near the Strait of Hormuz in the coming days.
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Iran → say → days
“This zone will start from the U.S. Navy’s blockade line and include areas of the Persian Gulf.
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zone → start → Gulf
Any ship entering this new zone will be placed on the sanctions list” of Iran, Mohsen Rezaei told state TV.
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Rezaei → enter → TV
Vessels targeted
asserted
Vessels → target → ?
On Saturday, U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM), which oversees American military operations in the region, said Iran had unsuccessfully fired at two American warships — an aircraft carrier and a destroyer.
asserted
Iran → oversee → warships
In response, the U.S. struck three oil tankers it said were linked to Iran’s Revolutionary Guards (IRGC).
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it → strike → Guards
Video posted by the military showed large fireballs and billowing flames after projectiles slammed into the ships.
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projectiles → post → ships
The three vessels were “part of a multibillion-dollar shadow network that funds the IRGC and its regional proxies,” CENTCOM said.
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CENTCOM → fund → IRGC
Iran quickly retaliated, with the Guards saying their naval forces “targeted three oil tankers on the unauthorized route of the Strait of Hormuz and three vessels affiliated with the child-killing America in other areas”.
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forces → retaliate → areas
It warned ships not to attempt to transit the key trade waterway via routes not approved by Tehran.
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It → warn → Tehran
Early on Sunday Iran’s Guards also said they attacked a U.S. naval drone trying to enter the strait, according to a statement carried by state television.
CENTCOM spokesman Captain Tim Hawkins, however, called the claim “a complete lie.”
uncertain
Hawkins → say → claim
‘Clinging on to power’
CENTCOM commander Admiral Brad Cooper had said after the exchange of strikes: “If you shoot at two of our ships, we will impose an even higher economic cost — taking out three of yours.”
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we → cling → yours
The Iranian foreign ministry condemned the attacks on its oil tankers as “illegal and aggressive actions.”
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ministry → condemn → actions
The administration of U.S. President Donald Trump has tried to downplay the significance of the six-month conflict, which has proven increasingly unpopular at home as midterm elections near.
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elections → try → home
U.S. Vice President JD Vance has gone so far as to say that he “wouldn’t call it a war.”
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he → go → it
Trump reiterated that view on Friday, calling the war “small potatoes” for Washington.
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Trump → reiterate → Washington
Iranian officials have maintained their defiant tone, but U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright told ABC’s “This Week” programme on Sunday that Iran was “doing everything they can to cling on to something.”
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they → maintain → something
“They know their nuclear programme’s coming to an end.
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programme → know → end
Their navy has come to an end.
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navy → come → end
Their air force has come to an end.
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force → come → end
They’re clinging on to power,” he said.
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he → cling → power
A fragile ceasefire between the two sides collapsed in July after attacks on commercial ships in the Hormuz strait, through which one-fifth of world oil supplies previously flowed.
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fifth → collapse → supplies
Trump has in recent weeks repeatedly threatened to claim sovereignty over the strait, even posting a map showing it as “new U.S. territory.”
uncertain
Trump → threaten → territory
Vance has insisted the U.S. will not reopen talks with Iran until it ends attacks on commercial shipping in the strait.
asserted
it → insist → strait
The Aporia
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