A senior Iranian military official declared Tuesday that a resumption of war with the United States is "inevitable," as negotiations between Tehran and Washington over a lasting end to hostilities in the Middle East appear to be stalling.
The statement marks a significant escalation in tone at a critical moment in diplomacy © Mena Today
A senior Iranian military official declared Tuesday that a resumption of war with the United States is "inevitable," as negotiations between Tehran and Washington over a lasting end to hostilities in the Middle East appear to be stalling.
"The United States demands our total capitulation, and the Iranian nation will never capitulate," said Mohammad Jafar Assadi, a deputy commander of the Khatam al-Anbiya joint command.
"Without capitulation, war is inevitable. So we are waiting, and war does not frighten us," he added, according to remarks carried by Iranian state television IRIB.
The statement marks a significant escalation in tone at a critical moment in diplomacy. While negotiators from both sides have been engaged in discussions aimed at ending the conflict that erupted on February 28, the gap between Washington's demands, including the dismantlement of Iran's nuclear programme and the permanent reopening of the Strait of Hormuz — and Tehran's red lines remains wide.
Assadi's remarks suggest that hardliners within Iran's military establishment are pushing back against any deal they perceive as surrender, and are willing to say so publicly, even as diplomats attempt to find common ground.
Hezbollah on Wednesday rejected accusations that it had dispatched experts to Yemen to fight alongside the Houthis in their war against the internationally recognised government and Saudi Arabia.
The US Democrats' "blue wave" of midterm election victories is already causing ripples across the rest of the world, where trade partners, strategic allies and enemies all see implications in the result.
Iran and the United States are still far from a deal to end their war, a senior Iranian official told Reuters on Tuesday, as US President Donald Trump declined to rule out a resumption of US combat operations after the elections in the United States.
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