Iran's Parliament Speaker Ghalibaf Warns 'Era of Proportionate Responses' to US Is Over

Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said Sunday, September 6, 2026, that 'the era of proportionate responses' to US strikes 'is over,' warning any future violation of Iran's security would draw a 'faster, more intense and more painful response.' The threat followed Saturday's CENTCOM strikes sinking Iranian oil tankers, including the M/T Kylo, in retaliation for IRGC ballistic-missile attacks on two US Navy vessels. CENTCOM spokesman Capt. Tim Hawkins dismissed Iran's claim of having struck a US vessel as a 'total lie,' while Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth warned, 'If Iran shoots at US ships, we will destroy (and sink) their oil tankers.' Energy Secretary Chris Wright said the administration remained open to nuclear negotiations with Tehran even as the sanctions and strikes campaign continued. President Trump again dismissed the six-month conflict as 'small potatoes' and defended VP Vance's reluctance to call it a war.