TEHRAN — Iran’s top security official said on Tuesday that Washington has received a “clear warning” from the Islamic Republic’s new missile capabilities, following the testing of an anti-ship missile near a U.S. warship in regional waters, as Tehran announced establishing a maritime exclusion zone across the Persian Gulf.
Major General Mohsen Rezaei, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, said in a post on X that Iran has recalibrated its military posture against U.S. warships.
“In recent days, Washington has received a clear warning 

from Iran’s new missiles,” General Rezaei wrote. “The operational posture toward U.S. warships and bases has been fundamentally recalibrated.”
His remarks came after a televised interview on Sunday in which he said an Iranian missile had forced a U.S. warship to flee the engagement zone.
“For the first time, we tested our anti-ship missile above an American warship,” General Rezaei said. “This special missile created hell for the Americans, and they fled.”
He said even U.S. Central Command could not conceal the incident, describing it as a warning that Washington’s naval blockade of Iran is vulnerable.
General Rezaei added that the Islamic Republic’s response to the U.S. economic war and naval blockade will include the establishment of a restricted maritime zone across the Persian Gulf up to the U.S. Navy’s blockade line.
“Economic warfare will be met by a maritime exclusion zone across the Persian Gulf to the blockade perimeter,” he said.
General Rezaei previously announced that any vessel entering the designated area without coordinating with Tehran would be placed on an Iranian sanctions list, with consequences for insurance coverage and future passage.
Iran has restricted passage through the Strait of Hormuz since the early days of the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran, which began on February 28 and was brought to a temporary halt by a ceasefire in early April following Iran’s retaliatory operations.
Iranian Parliament Deputy Speaker Ali Nikzad said on Tuesday that targeting U.S. warships and destroying facilities where American military commanders are stationed represent only a fraction of Iran’s military capabilities.
“What happened in the targeting of U.S. warships and the destruction of their commanders’ deployment centers was only a fraction of our capabilities,” Nikzad said while addressing parliament during his pre-agenda speech. 
He urged the U.S. administration to withdraw from West Asia and the Persian Gulf, warning Washington against further losses of its already diminished credibility.
Nikzad further slammed the U.S. military presence in the region, saying American bases have been established to project power and offer neighboring countries the “dream of security”.
“You built bases in this region, and today, after our powerful armed forces destroyed them, you are forced to take refuge in hotels,” he said. 
“You displayed your power with your warships and sold our neighbors the dream of security, but today, faced with the depression and suicide of your soldiers, you are forced to anchor off the coast of Thailand.”
He also slammed the United States for interfering with Iranian vessels and said American warships have subsequently faced ballistic-missile strikes.
“You harassed Iranian ships and were then confronted with ballistic missiles striking your warships,” Nikzad said. “Leaving a war that is no place for flies is the best choice for you.”
Nikzad also referred to the U.S. attack on a wedding ceremony in southern Iran, saying it could not be dismissed as a technical error. He pointed to the type of missile used and the distance between the ceremony and a telecommunications tower as evidence.
“This crime was by no means a technical error,” he said. “The type of missile used, as well as the distance between the ceremony and the telecommunications tower, also demonstrates that this was a war crime.”
The U.S. military struck the wedding at the home of fisherman Ali Mallahi around 8 to 9:30 p.m. last Tuesday as families gathered for his daughter’s ceremony. The attack, confirmed as a “direct hit” even by Western media, killed five people, including a six-year-old boy, and injured nearly 70 others.
Nikzad said the war has changed how people around the world view the United States and its military power. He added that even if the attack were attributed to a technical error, it would demonstrate the limitations of U.S. military technology.
In an interview with an IRIB reporter, Iran’s acting defense minister, Brigadier General Majid Ibn Reza, addressed claims by U.S. officials that Iran lacks the means to strike vessels enforcing the economic siege.
“The Americans believe that we do not have the capability and technology to target the warships participating in the economic blockade against our people,” the reporter noted.
General Ibn Reza responded with characteristic resolve: “God willing, you will see, you will see the results.” When pressed whether the Americans should be certain of Iran’s capability, he reiterated: “You will definitely see the results, God willing.”
The remarks come as the United States continues its unlawful naval blockade of Iranian ports, an act of economic aggression that Iranian officials have repeatedly described as a continuation of the war of aggression launched against the Islamic Republic earlier this year.
Iran’s air defense chief said on Monday the Islamic Republic is mass-producing home-grown weapons that proved critical during the U.S.-Israeli aggression earlier this year.
Brigadier General Alireza Elhami, commander of Iran’s Khatam al-Anbiya Joint Air Defense Headquarters, said that homegrown defense systems are being deployed across Iranian territory.
“The equipment produced [inside Iran] passed a successful test during that conflict, and now they are being rapidly mass-produced to be deployed across the entire expanse of the Islamic Republic of Iran,” said General Elhami.