A senior Iranian military official said on Saturday a resumption of the war with the US and Israel is “likely” after US President Donald Trump snubbed Tehran’s latest proposal to end the weeks-long crisis in the Strait of Hormuz.
“A renewed conflict between Iran and the United States is likely, and evidence has shown that the United States is not committed to any promises or agreements,” Mohammad Jafar Asadi of the military’s central command centre, Khatam al-Anbiya, said in statements carried by Iranian media.
This came hours after Trump said he was “not satisfied” with a new proposal handed by Iran to mediator Pakistan, blaming stalled talks on “tremendous discord” within Iran’s leadership.
The war, launched by the United States and Israel on 28 February, has been on hold since 8 April, with only one failed round of direct talks since.
Iran has maintained its stranglehold on the Strait of Hormuz, choking off major flows of oil, gas and fertiliser, while the United States has imposed a counter-blockade on Iranian ports.
In Lebanon on Saturday, the Israeli military continued strikes in the south of the country, while issuing evacuation orders for nine villages.
Israel also admitted that its soldiers had damaged a Christian religious site, drawing condemnation from the Catholic charity L’Oeuvre d’Orient.
