Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps on Sunday threatened to target US sites in the Middle East and “enemy ships” if its tankers come under fire, Iranian media reported, amid several flare-ups threatening the fragile ceasefire with Washington.

“Any attack on Iranian tankers and commercial vessels will result in a heavy attack on one of the American centers in the region and enemy ships,” it said, a day after US attacks against two Iranian tankers in the Gulf of Oman.

Iranian Army Spokesperson Mohammad Akraminia also said that vessels from countries that comply with US sanctions against Iran will, with immediate effect, face difficulties crossing the Strait of Hormuz, according to the semi-official Tasnim news agency.

Iranian lawmakers have said they are drafting a bill to formalize Iran’s management of the Strait of Hormuz, with clauses including forbidding passage to vessels of “hostile states.”

The threats came as Tehran continued to keep Washington waiting for a response to its latest proposals to end more than two months of fighting and begin peace talks. Recent days have also seen the biggest flare-ups in fighting in and around the Strait of Hormuz since a ceasefire began a month ago, and the United Arab Emirates came under renewed attack on Friday.

On Sunday, a bulk carrier reported being struck by an unknown projectile while sailing 23 nautical miles northeast of Doha, Qatar, the UK Maritime........

© The Times of Israel