A senior Iranian military official said on Saturday, May 2nd, that a resumption of conflict with the United States is “likely,” while Donald Trump expressed dissatisfaction with a new offer from Iran to restart peace talks. The American president stated on Friday that hostilities against Iran were “over” in a letter to congressional leaders, claiming to comply with the law requiring authorization from Congress to extend a conflict beyond 60 days.
“A resumption of conflict between Iran and the United States is likely, and the facts have shown that the United States disregarded any promises or agreements,” reacted Mohammad Jafar Asadi, deputy inspector of the Khatam Al-Anbiya armed forces command, quoted by the Fars news agency. “The armed forces are fully prepared for any new adventurism or reckless action on the part of the Americans,” he added.
The USS Gerald Ford, the world’s largest aircraft carrier, has left the Middle East, but 20 US Navy ships, including two other aircraft carriers, remain deployed.
Ceasefire agreement has been in effect since April 8th after nearly 40 days of Israeli-American strikes on Iran and Tehran’s retaliations in the region. An initial round of direct talks in Islamabad on April 11th proved unsuccessful, with no follow-up due to strong disagreements between the two sides, from the Strait of Hormuz to the nuclear issue.
Iran delivered a new text this week via Pakistan, the mediator of the talks, with no details revealed on the content. Donald Trump, however, expressed dissatisfaction on Friday with this latest version, suggesting that Iranian leaders were “divided” and unable to agree on a conflict resolution strategy.
The American president, who had previously threatened to “destroy” the Iranian “civilization,” added that he would prefer not to “obliterate” Iran once and for all but that a return to war remained “an option.” He was briefed on possible new military actions by the army on Thursday.
The war has caused thousands of deaths, mainly in Iran and Lebanon, and its repercussions continue to shake the global economy, with oil prices reaching unprecedented levels since 2022 this week. While the bombings have stopped, the conflict persists in other forms: Washington enforces a blockade on Iranian ports in retaliation for Tehran’s closure of the Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of the world’s consumed oil used to pass.
Stay informed by subscribing to the RTL newsletter for daily news updates.
