Iran Threatens Retaliation as US Strikes Iranian Oil Tankers

Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf warned that any new US attacks on its assets would be met with retaliation. 'Strike our assets and you get struck,' he said, referencing Iranian attacks on US military bases in the region.

The threat comes after a weekend of tit-for-tat strikes between the two nations. The US Central Command reported that US forces had struck three Iranian oil tankers, including one off Kharg Island, Iran's key oil export hub.

Iran has throttled traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, a vital global oil and gas supply route, since the conflict began with US and Israeli strikes on February 28. Mohsen Rezaei, senior Iranian security official, said that Iran would soon approve maps of a new shipping corridor through the strait.

The restricted zone would begin from where a US naval blockade of Iran starts and extend into areas of the Gulf. Any ship entering the new zone would be added to an Iranian sanctions list, Rezaei said.