Iran Claims Strike On Unmanned U.S. Vessel In Strait Of Hormuz, U.S. Rejects Claim As ‘Total Lie’

Iran said on Sunday it had attacked an unmanned U.S. vessel trying to enter an area that Iran says is restricted in the Strait of Hormuz.

Capt. Tim Hawkins, a spokesperson for U.S. Central Command, rejected the claim. Hawkins said the U.S. military had not been attacked as claimed by Iran, calling the report a “total lie.”

The claim followed the U.S. military’s announcement that it had struck three Iranian oil tankers after Iran launched ballistic missiles at U.S. Navy warships.

Iranian parliament speaker and chief negotiator Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf said the era of “proportionate responses” was over.

He said Iran’s response would be “faster, heavier and more painful.”

Iran Plans Exclusion Zone Near Strait

Iran has also said it plans to create an “exclusion zone” outside the Strait of Hormuz.

Mohsen Rezaei, the new head of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, made the comments to Iran’s state broadcaster.

He said the zone would target vessels that Iran believes are trying to pass through the waterway.

Rezaei gave few details about the plan. He said it would start from the line of the U.S. naval blockade, move toward the Strait of Hormuz and continue into the Persian Gulf.

He said Iran would announce the zone in the coming days and weeks.

US and Iran Resume Attacks

The fighting restarted after about a month of relative calm. The Strait of Hormuz and areas along Iran’s southern coast have again been targeted.

At least five people were killed earlier in the week during a U.S. bombardment of southern Iran. The war began with U.S. and Israeli attacks on Iran on Feb. 28.

A fragile ceasefire was announced in June. Fighting has continued on and off since then, while negotiations have collapsed.

Both sides have been trying to put military and economic pressure on the other.

Iran’s Nuclear Program Remains Unresolved

Iran’s nuclear program was one of the issues that led to the outbreak of the war.

The issue was supposed to be discussed in negotiations between the United States and Iran. Those talks fell apart soon after the two countries signed a memorandum of understanding in mid-June.

Diplomats say the United States, Britain, France and Germany want to refer Iran to the U.N. Security Council for failing to meet its nuclear nonproliferation obligations.

References: AP News, WPXI