Tehran insists that a US Global Hawk surveillance drone was within its airspace when it was shot down, a claim the US denies (Handout)

Washington (AFP) – US President Donald Trump on Saturday pledged to hit Iran with “major” new sanctions as Tehran warned Washington that any attack would see its interests across the Middle East go up in flames.

The war of words heated up after Trump had pulled back from military action against Iran in response to its downing of a US reconnaissance drone.

That incident, which came after a series of attacks on tankers in the congested shipping lanes out of the Gulf that the US has blamed on Iran, exacerbated already tense relations between the two countries.

Iran has denied responsibility for those attacks.

Trump, who spent Saturday huddling with his advisors at Camp David, initially told reporters that he was keen to be Iran’s “best friend” — if the country agreed to renounce nuclear weapons.

“When they agree to that, they’re going to have a wealthy country. They’re going to be so happy, and I’m going to be their best friend. I hope that happens,” he told reporters outside the White House.

Iran has denied seeking a nuclear weapon and says its program is for civilian purposes.

A multinational accord reached by Tehran and world powers in 2015 sought to curb Iran’s nuclear ambitions in exchange for sanctions relief.

But Trump left that agreement more than a year ago and has imposed a robust slate of punitive economic sanctions designed to choke off Iranian oil sales and cripple its economy — one he now plans to expand.

“We are putting major additional Sanctions on Iran on Monday,” tweeted Trump, who has also deployed additional troops to the Middle East.

“I look forward to the day that Sanctions come off Iran, and they become a productive and prosperous nation again – The sooner the better!”

– ‘Powder keg’ –

Earlier, a top Iranian military official warned Washington against any strikes, which Trump says is still an option.

“Firing one bullet towards Iran will set fire to the interests of America and its allies” in the region, armed forces general staff spokesman Brigadier General Abolfazl Shekarchi told the Tasnim news agency.

“If the enemy — especially America and its allies in the region — make the military mistake of shooting the powder keg on which America’s interests lie, the region will be set on fire,” Shekarchi warned.

Following his comments, Iran said it had executed a man convicted of spying for the United States.

“The execution sentence was carried out for Jalal Haji Zavar, a contractor for the defense ministry’s aerospace organization who spied for the CIA and the American government,” semi-official ISNA news agency reported, quoting the Iranian military.

– ‘Trampling’ international law –

After the downing Thursday of the Global Hawk surveillance aircraft, Trump said the United States had been “cocked & loaded” to strike Iran.

But at the last minute, he said he pulled back as the response would not have been “proportionate.”

The US president subsequently said he did not want war with Iran, but if it came to pass, there would be “obliteration like you’ve never seen before,” according to excerpts of an  interview with NBC conducted on Friday.

Tehran insists that the drone violated its airspace — something Washington denies — but a commander of the elite Revolutionary Guards, Brigadier General Amir Ali Hajizadeh, told state news agency IRNA that the violation could have been an accident.

“Nonetheless, this was an act of trampling international aviation laws by a spy aircraft,” Hajizadeh added.

The Pentagon released a map of the drone’s flight path, indicating it avoided Iranian waters, but Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif on Saturday published maps showing the aircraft inside Iranian territory.

“There can be no doubt about where the vessel was when it was brought down,” he wrote on Twitter.

Iran’s foreign ministry said it had summoned the charge d’affaires of the United Arab Emirates, from where the US drone launched, to protest its decision to “put its installations at the disposal of foreign forces for aggression.”

The US Federal Aviation Administration has barred American civilian aircraft from the area “until further notice,” and major non-US airlines including British Airways, KLM, Lufthansa, Qantas, Emirates and Etihad said they too were altering flight paths to avoid the sensitive Strait of Hormuz. 

In Tehran, some residents expressed fear and frustration about the ongoing tensions. 

“The economic situation deteriorates by the day (and) sanctions get harder,” said print shop manager Mehrad Farzanegan.

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Disclaimer: Validity of the above story is for 7 Days from original date of publishing. Source: AFP.