Iran said it would intensify efforts to address economic problems caused by U.S. sanctions, while Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf warned that any further attack on Iran’s interests or security would draw a faster, heavier and more painful response. Six months after U.S.-Israeli strikes against Iran, the conflict appears stalled: a preliminary ceasefire accord reached in June has unravelled, diplomatic efforts have made little progress, and tit-for-tat attacks resumed after a pause through much of July. U.S. Central Command said it struck three Iranian tankers on Saturday after Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), the country’s elite military force, launched ballistic missiles at two U.S. Navy ships. Tehran said it retained the ability to target U.S. interests in neighboring countries and disrupt oil shipments through the Strait of Hormuz, through which one-fifth of global oil supplies flowed before the conflict. Iranian officials said U.S. efforts to restrict oil exports and prevent sanctions evasion were increasingly difficult for the economy to withstand. Qalibaf identified currency volatility, inflation, unemployment and market management as major domestic challenges. Economy Minister Ali Madanizadeh said Iran would answer economic pressure with reforms and rejected the idea that sanctions would alter the decisions of the Iranian people. Deputy Economy Minister Morteza Zamanian said the ministry’s Economic War Headquarters was intensifying efforts to resolve war-related problems. Iran, the third-largest producer in OPEC, exported 90% of its crude through Kharg Island before the war. Oil flows have been disrupted since a U.S. blockade began in mid-April. Iranian Oil Minister Mohsen Paknejad said Kharg had been struck about 550 times in previous months but remained operational. On Aug. 31, Trump posted a one-line social media message alongside an AI-generated video showing Kharg Island being "blown to smithereens." The IRGC threatened intensified attacks on U.S. military vessels after Central Command’s strikes, while U.S. officials said no American personnel were harmed. Iranian state media also reported that the IRGC had shot down a U.S. surveillance balloon over Erbil in northern Iraq.