\n<\/p>\n
DUBAI: Iran said it will step up efforts to tackle problems created by the U.S. sanctions that \u200bare crippling its economy, while a senior Iranian official warned of a \u201cpainful response\u201d if it comes under further attack.<\/b><\/p>\n
Six months after U.S.-Israeli strikes against Iran, the war appears to be at \u200ca stalemate. A preliminary ceasefire accord reached in June has unravelled and little progress has been made in diplomatic efforts to get the peace process back on track.<\/span><\/p>\n After a pause in military action for much of August, tit-for-tat strikes have resumed with U.S. Central Command saying it hit three Iranian tankers on Saturday after Iran\u2019s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps launched ballistic missiles at two U.S. Navy ships.<\/span><\/p>\n Following the attacks, Iran\u2019s Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf said on Sunday that the U.S. should understand that \u200bthe rules of the game in the war against Iran have changed \u201cbefore it is too late\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cFrom now on, any attack against Iran\u2019s interests and security will receive a faster, heavier and more \u200bpainful response,\u201d he said in a speech published on his Telegram channel.<\/span><\/p>\n Tehran has shown it retains the capability to attack U.S. interests in neighbouring countries and \u2060to shut down oil flows through the Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of global oil supplies flowed prior to the conflict.<\/span><\/p>\n However, the U.S. campaign to throttle Iran\u2019s economy by \u200bblockading its oil exports and stopping sanctions evasion is growing increasingly difficult to withstand, three senior Iranian sources have said.<\/span><\/p>\n In his speech on Sunday, Qalibaf added that alongside the military front, Iran\u2019s main battle was now over \u200bproduction and people\u2019s livelihoods.<\/span><\/p>\n He cited sharp currency fluctuations, inflation, unemployment and market management as major challenges, adding Iranians could tolerate hardship but not mismanagement or inaction and expected the government to act quickly.<\/span><\/p>\n Iran\u2019s Economy Minister Ali Madanizadeh said that Tehran planned to respond to U.S. economic pressure with reforms and rejected the notion that sanctions would cause it to change course, according to state media on Sunday.<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Iran will not have a nuclear weapon.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cThey speak of economic pressure and isolation, of breaking off financial ties and they think \u200bthat by pressuring the economy of a country they can change the decisions of its people,\u201d Madanizadeh said.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cI have to clarify one point: the responsibility of reforming Iran\u2019s economy is with its government and people, \u200bnot with the U.S. Treasury.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Separately, Economy Ministry deputy Morteza Zamanian said on Sunday that the ministry\u2019s \u201cEconomic War Headquarters\u201d was doubling down on its work to resolve problems caused by the war, according to the semi-official Tasnim news agency.<\/span><\/p>\n Iran is the third-largest producer in the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and exported 90% of its crude via its Kharg Island export hub before the war. Flows have been disrupted since a U.S. blockade of Iranian oil exports began in mid-April.<\/span><\/p>\n On Sunday, U.S. Central Command said on X that as of September 6 it had redirected 92 commercial vessels, disabled three and boarded two to ensure strict compliance with its blockade.<\/span><\/p>\n On August 31, Trump issued a one-line social media post accompanied by an AI-generated video depicting Kharg Island being \u201cblown to smithereens.\u201d Iranian authorities have vowed a strong response if Kharg is attacked.<\/span><\/p>\n In an \u200binterview aired on state TV on Sunday, Iran\u2019s Oil \u200bMinister Mohsen Paknejad said the island had been \u2060hit around 550 times in previous months but continued to operate.<\/span><\/p>\n Iran has also imposed a blockade on the Strait of Hormuz, creating an issue for U.S. President Donald Trump by pushing up fuel prices globally ahead of midterm elections for his Republican Party in November.<\/span><\/p>\n However, U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright said oil was getting \u200bthrough the waterway.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cOur transits through the Strait are averaging over 9 million barrels a day now, and with the access pipelines that go around the \u200bStrait, we\u2019re probably two thirds \u2060or more of pre-conflict flows. So Iranians are still causing trouble, but the United States Navy is winning that battle,\u201d he told CNN.<\/span><\/p>\n On Saturday, U.S. Central Command said it struck three Iranian vessels, including one off the coast of Kharg Island, after Iran\u2019s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps launched ballistic missiles at two U.S. Navy ships.<\/span><\/p>\n The IRGC responded by threatening intensified strikes against U.S. military vessels in the region, and said later it targeted the three tankers \u2060as well as \u200bthree U.S.-linked vessels in other areas.<\/span><\/p>\n Tasnim, the semi-official Iranian news agency, had reported that four U.S. missiles hit a tanker in \u200bthe area of Kharg\u2019s anchorage. Tasnim quoted local sources as saying there were no casualties and the tanker\u2019s crew was being evacuated.<\/span><\/p>\nSANCTIONS, OIL BLOCKADE SQUEEZE ECONOMY<\/span><\/h2>\n
KHARG ISLAND \u200cHIT 550 TIMES \u2060IN PRIOR MONTHS, IRAN SAYS<\/span><\/h2>\n