Iran’s army spokesman, Brigadier General Mohammad Akraminia, has accused US Secretary of State Marco Rubio of hypocrisy after Rubio blamed Tehran for attacks on commercial vessels in the Strait of Hormuz. 

In a post on X on Thursday, Akraminia said Iran was dealing with a country that carried out what he called savage attacks while negotiations were underway. He listed the killing of 168 children, a number of athletes, 104 sailors in a foreign land and a wedding party. He ended the post with a challenge to Washington: “Have you ever seen such criminals from ancient times until now?”

The figure of 168 children refers to the strike on a girls’ primary school in the southern Iranian city of Minab on February 28, at the start of the war. Iranian authorities say 168 people, mostly young girls, died in the attack, which Tehran blames on the United States and Israel. Akraminia did not name the other incidents in his post.

His remarks were a response to Rubio’s comments earlier this week in an interview with US media. Rubio said that reaching a peace deal with Iran was “extremely difficult” and that Washington would keep up its economic pressure until Tehran stopped targeting commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz.

He also said oil tanker traffic through the waterway had recovered to more than 80 per cent of pre-war levels, a claim Iran has repeatedly disputed.

The exchange comes as diplomacy and military threats run in parallel. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said indirect talks with Washington through Pakistan and Qatar are continuing, but insisted that the strait will stay closed until the United States accepts Tehran’s conditions.

US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth said Washington is prepared to take further military action to ensure Iran never obtains a nuclear weapon. Oil prices have climbed past $110 a barrel as the standoff drags on.

Akraminia has been one of Tehran’s most outspoken military voices in recent weeks. Earlier this month, he accused Rubio of revealing the true face of American policy and claimed that Washington wants to destroy Iranian-Islamic civilisation, not just topple the Islamic Republic. He has also said Iran’s military doctrine now allows for pre-emptive strikes if it concludes that an attack is imminent.