Iran says ‘low’ possibility of return to war with US

Iran’s Revolutionary Guards announced on Wednesday that a return to war with the United States was unlikely, but warned that the Islamic Republic was prepared to respond to any attack.

The statement followed a day after Iran accused the United States of breaching the ceasefire that has been in place since April, and warned that it was ready to retaliate after the most serious strikes since the truce began.

In Lebanon, where a truce has done little to stop violence in Israel’s war with Hezbollah, Israeli strikes killed 31 people on Tuesday, according to the Lebanese health ministry.

The Middle East conflict began in late February with U.S.–Israeli strikes on Iran, spreading quickly across multiple fronts and disrupting global energy markets.

Mohammad Akbarzadeh, deputy political chief of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy, said that the likelihood of returning to “war is low because of the enemy’s weakness, the armed forces are lying in wait with full magazines.”

He added that the military would turn the area along Iran’s coastline “into a graveyard for aggressors,” a statement reported by the Tasnim news agency.

Tehran’s intelligence ministry said that the United States and Israel were still seeking to overthrow the Islamic Republic and partition Iran.

The ministry claimed it had evidence that the two countries would smuggle “various weapons, ammunition and illegal communication tools, especially Starlink” satellite internet devices into Iran to foment religious and ethnic divisions and carry out sabotage missions.

– Oil prices drop –

Iran and the United States have been engaged in a war of words for weeks as they try to negotiate a deal, with mediation efforts led by Pakistan.

With no clear winner in the conflict, neither side appears ready to compromise on the key sticking points, which include the Strait of Hormuz and Iran’s nuclear programme.

Iran blockaded the strait, vital to global energy flows, in retaliation for the war, while the United States responded with a counterblockade of Iranian ports.

On Wednesday, the Revolutionary Guards’ navy insisted that only ships “willing to abide by Iranian order” would be allowed to pass through the waterway.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Tuesday that a peace deal remained within reach, but that the Strait of Hormuz would be reopened “one way or the other.”

Oil prices, which are still well above pre‑war levels, fell Wednesday on renewed hopes for progress in U.S.–Iran talks, with international benchmark Brent North Sea crude dropping five percent to $94.61 a barrel.

– ‘Will there be missiles?’ –

The Iranian authorities partially restored access to the global internet on Tuesday after a three‑month shutdown.

“I do feel better now because I finally can use my favourite applications,” said Hana, a 20‑year‑old student in Tehran who gave only her first name.

“At the same time, I have this concern that war might resume any minute and just cut me off again from my friends.”

Amir, a 27‑year‑old software developer in the Iranian capital, also said he feared renewed fighting.

“I feel like nothing is certain yet, even though the ceasefire is still ongoing and there is news of a possible agreement. But the daily question is, will there be missile strikes tonight?”

There have been flare‑ups during the ceasefire, with the most recent occurring overnight Monday to Tuesday, when the U.S. military said it launched “self‑defence strikes,” providing few details. Iran’s foreign ministry accused Washington of a “gross violation of the ceasefire.”

In a statement marking the start of the Eid al‑Adha holiday, Tehran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei declared that Washington was losing its influence in the Middle East and warned countries in the region to stop hosting bases from which the U.S. could launch attacks.

The United States, he said in a written statement, “in addition to no longer having any safe haven in the region for aggression and the establishment of military bases, is moving further and further away from its former position with each passing day.”

– Dozens dead in Lebanon –

In southern Lebanon, Israel carried out strikes on Tuesday that Beirut’s health ministry said killed 31 people, including at least four children.

An AFP correspondent at one strike site near the city of Tyre saw rescue workers removing debris on Wednesday and carrying a white body bag from the rubble, which was strewn with household items like rugs and cushions.

Iran has demanded that any peace accord apply to Lebanon, where an April 17 truce has failed to stop fighting that began when militant group Hezbollah attacked Israel in early March.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday vowed to “crush” Hezbollah, and an Israeli military official told AFP the following day that the country’s forces were expanding their ground operations deeper inside Lebanon.

Hezbollah said its fighters clashed with Israeli forces “at point‑blank range” on Wednesday in a strategically significant town north of the Litani River, just beyond an Israeli‑declared “yellow line” in south Lebanon where its troops have been operating.

The post Iran says ‘low’ possibility of return to war with US appeared first on Vanguard News.