Iran states it struck two US destroyers, US CENTCOM denies attack occurred
\n Tehran
\nIran said on Wednesday that enemy and commercial vessels entering a newly designated maritime zone without Tehran\u2019s authorisation would face sanctions, according to Iranian media reports.
\nIRGC spokesman Hossein Mohibi said any enemy vessel or commercial ship entering the area without coordination with Iranian authorities would be placed on a sanctions list, the semi-official Fars News Agency reported.
\nHe said the measure would mean Iran would halt the provision of maritime, insurance and support services to those vessels, and that they would remain barred from receiving the services even if they later transit the Strait of Hormuz.
\nIn separate remarks by Iran\u2019s Student News Network, Mohibi said that although the fighting with the world\u2019s \u201cgreatest apparent powers\u201d had ended at certain stages, \u201cthe nature of the war continues\u201d.
\nHe claimed that the war had, for the first time, inflicted \u201cstrategic damage\u201d directly on the US and affected its security and economic calculations. Mohibi said if the enemy wanted the situation to end, it must completely halt the war and refrain from renewed threats.
\nHe also listed several other demands, including the withdrawal of the Israeli army from Lebanon, an end to the blockade of Yemen, the release of $24 billion in frozen Iranian assets, and an end to interference in Iran\u2019s nuclear and missile capabilities. \u201cWe have reached a point where if the enemy hits two or three of our targets, we respond firmly against 20 targets,\u201d Mohibi said. Iran\u2019s Revolutionary Guards earlier said that the maritime restricted area would extend from Chabahar in Iran into parts of the Gulf of Oman and the Arabian Sea, with its precise coordinates to be announced.
\nThe announcement followed comments on Sunday by Mohsen Rezaei, secretary of Iran\u2019s Supreme National Security Council, who was quoted by state media as saying Iran would establish a restricted zone outside the Strait of Hormuz in the coming days.
\nIt also followed an incident where the IRGC said that it struck two US Navy destroyers operating in the Middle East. US CENTCOM denied the statement, saying that \u201cNo US Navy warship has been struck; all IRGC attempted attacks failed. Meanwhile, US forces have successfully destroyed 10 Iranian tankers in just the last week.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Iran states it struck two US destroyers, US CENTCOM denies attack occurred Tehran Iran said on Wednesday that enemy and commercial vessels entering a newly designated maritime zone without Tehran\u2019s authorisation would face sanctions, according to Iranian media reports. IRGC spokesman Hossein Mohibi said any enemy vessel or commercial ship entering the area without coordination […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":566408,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-566483","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-world"],"yoast_head":"\n