Iran general warns Gulf conflicts may spread

DUBAI/WASHINGTON — Any conflict in the Gulf region may spread uncontrollably and threaten the lives of US troops, a senior Iranian military commander said on Sunday after US President Donald Trump said he would impose further sanctions on the Islamic Republic.

While flagging more sanctions, Trump had also said on Saturday he wanted to make a deal to bolster Iran's economy in an apparent move to defuse tensions following the shooting down of an unmanned US drone this week by Iran.

Trump has said he aborted a military strike to retaliate for Iran's downing of the drone because it could have killed 150 people.

"Neither Iran nor any other hostile actor should mistake US prudence and discretion for weakness.

No one has granted them a hunting license in the Middle East," US National Security Adviser John Bolton said on Sunday during a visit to Israel.

However, Trump has not ruled out future military strikes against Iran.

He told reporters on Saturday that military action "is always on the table until we get this solved".

The United States also carried out cyber attacks against Iranian missile control systems in retaliation, Xinhua News Agency cited media reports as saying.

The Washington Post reported that the cyber attacks, which were approved by Trump, disabled Iranian computer systems used to control rocket and missile launches.

Iran has said it would respond firmly to any threat and warned on Sunday of the risks of a military confrontation.

"If a conflict breaks out in the region, no country would be able to manage its scope and timing," Major General Gholamali Rashid said, according to the semiofficial news agency Fars.

"The American government must act responsibly to protect the lives of American troops by avoiding misconduct in the region.

"Iranian President Hassan Rouhani on Sunday also accused the US of stoking tensions in the Gulf through what Iran has called the violation of its airspace by a US military drone, which Teheran shot down, the semiofficial Fars news agency reported.

"Rouhani reiterated that this American aggression is the start of new tensions by them in the region, and added: "This region is very sensitive … and important to many countries, so we expect international bodies to react appropriately," Fars said.

Tensions in the region began to worsen significantly when Trump pulled out of a 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and six powers and reimposed sanctions on the country. The sanctions had been lifted under the pact in return for Teheran curbing its nuclear program.

REUTERS — XINHUA