US President Donald Trump could resume the war in Iran with fresh strikes in days, according to reports. Journalist Barak Ravid reported that a senior US administration official informed Iran in advance on Sunday about the planned operation to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and warned Tehran not to interfere.
This was followed on Tuesday by a message from Dan Caine, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, who maintained that the ceasefire was still in effect. However, Mr Ravid reports that “some senior American and Israeli officials” believe that Mr Trump could order the war to resume “later this week if the diplomatic stalemate continues”.
Mr Caine said the US military is prepared to quickly resume the war if the president orders it.
Speaking at the Pentagon briefing room, US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth said Iran will face “overwhelming American firepower” if they attack American troops.
He said: “To what remains of Iran’s forces, if you attack American troops or innocent commercial shipping, you will face overwhelming American firepower.
“The president has been very clear about this. We prefer this to be a peaceful mission, but we are locked and loaded to defend our people, our ships, our aircraft and this mission without hesitation.”
He said this is to provide 24/7 surveillance of “peaceful” commercial vessels – except for those from Iran. The US Defence Secretary then seemed to take a swipe at NATO, saying that “the world needs this waterway far more than we do”.
Mr Hegseth said the US is “stabilising the situation so Hormuz can flow again” but “expects the world to step up”. “At the appropriate time, and soon we will hand responsibility back to you”, he added.
