DUBAI: Iran could
target US commercial ships including oil tankers, the US Maritime
Administration said, as a senior Iranian cleric said a US Navy fleet could be
"destroyed with one missile." In the latest tense exchange between
Tehran and Washington, Iran's hardline Revolutionary Guards separately said
Iran would not negotiate with the United States, a stance that seemed partly
aimed at discouraging Iranian President Hassan Rouhani and his moderate allies
from taking up a US offer of talks.

US President
Donald Trump on Thursday urged Iran's leaders talk with him about giving up
their nuclear program and said he could not rule out a military confrontation.
Trump made the offer as he increased economic and military pressure on Iran,
moving to cut off all Iranian oil exports this month while beefing up the US
Navy and Air Force presence in the Gulf.

Acting US Defense
Secretary Patrick Shanahan approved a new deployment of Patriot missiles to the
Middle East, a US official said. The US aircraft carrier Abraham Lincoln,
deployed as a warning to Iran, passed through Egypt's Suez Canal on Thursday
and American B-52 bombers have also arrived at a US base in Qatar, US Central
Command said.

Iran has dismissed
both moves - which the United States said it took after US intelligence
signaled possible preparations by Tehran to attack US forces or interests - as
"psychological warfare" designed to intimidate it. In an advisory
posted on Thursday, the US Maritime Administration (MARAD) said that since
early May there had been an increased possibility of Iran or its regional
proxies taking action against US and partner interests.

These included,
MARAD said, oil production infrastructure, after Tehran threatened to close the
vital Strait of Hormuz chokepoint through which about a fifth of oil consumed
globally passes. "Iran or its proxies could respond by targeting
commercial vessels, including oil tankers, or US military vessels in the Red
Sea, Bab-El-Mandeb Strait, or the Arabian Gulf," MARAD said.
"Reporting indicates heightened Iranian readiness to conduct offensive
operations against US forces and interests."

Heated rhetoric

Millions of
barrels of oil pass daily through the various bottlenecks from Middle East oil
producers to global markets. US-Iranian tensions have risen since Trump
withdrew a year ago from a 2015 nuclear deal with Iran and major powers and
began ratcheting up sanctions to throttle Tehran's economy. Vice Admiral Jim
Malloy, commander of the US Navy's Bahrain-based Fifth Fleet, told Reuters on
Thursday its forces were on a heightened state of readiness, although the US
military was not seeking or preparing for war with Iran.

MARAD said
US-flagged ships were encouraged to contact the Fifth Fleet at least two days
before sailing through the Strait of Hormuz. The fleet's job is to protect
commercial shipping in the area. Washington further tightened sanctions on Iran
this month - eliminating waivers that had allowed some countries to buy its oil
- with a goal of reducing Tehran's crude exports to zero. Iran responded by
relaxing some curbs on its nuclear program concerning material stockpiles but
continues to comply with commitments to restrict its uranium enrichment
activity.

Rhetoric has
grown heated on both sides. The semi-official ISNA news agency quoted hardliner
Ayatollah Tabatabai-Nejad in the city of Isfahan as saying: "Their
billion(-dollar) fleet can be destroyed with one missile. "If they attempt
any move, they will ... (face) dozens of missiles because at that time
(government) officials won't be in charge to act cautiously, but instead things
will be in the hands of our beloved leader (Ayatollah Ali Khamenei)," he
said.

'Sanctions have
no effect!'

Separately,
Yadollah Javani, the elite Revolutionary Guards' deputy head for political
affairs, said: "No talks will be held with the Americans, and the
Americans will not dare take military action against us." "Our nation
... sees America as unreliable," he said, according to the semi-official
Tasnim news agency, echoing a stance Iran has taken since the US withdrawal
from the 2015 deal under which Iran curbed its nuclear program in return for
relief from economic sanctions.

Thousands of
Iranians took part in state-sponsored marches on Friday to support the
government's decision to reduce limits on its nuclear program. Iran has
threatened to go further if other parties to the deal - Britain, China, France,
Germany and Russia - fail to shield it from US sanctions. State TV showed
protesters marching after Friday prayers in Tehran and said similar marches had
been held across Iran. "America should know, sanctions have no
effect!" chanted the protesters. - Reuters