Iran army warns will 'open new fronts' against US if attacks resume

TEHRAN: Iran’s army warned on Tuesday it would “open new fronts” against the United States if it resumes attacks, after President Donald Trump said he had held off launching a new offensive in hopes of striking a deal.

“If the enemy is foolish enough to fall into the Zionist trap again and launches new aggression against our beloved Iran, we will open new fronts against it, with new equipment and new methods,” said army spokesman Mohammad Akraminia, according to Iran’s ISNA news agency.

Washington and Tehran have been swapping proposals in an effort to end the Middle East war, which broke out on February 28. The two sides have held a single round of talks so far amid a fragile ceasefire in place since April 8.

In a post on his Truth Social platform, Trump said the leaders of Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates had asked him “to hold off on our planned Military attack of the Islamic Republic of Iran, which was scheduled for tomorrow, in that serious negotiations are now taking place”.

But Trump added he had instructed the US military to be “prepared to go forward with a full, large scale assault of Iran, on a moment’s notice, in the event that an acceptable Deal is not reached”.

On Tuesday, Iranian army spokesman Akraminia said his country had used the ceasefire as an opportunity “to strengthen its combat capabilities”, without elaborating.

According to ISNA, he also reiterated that Iran maintains control over the strategic Strait of Hormuz, which it has closed and wants to charge ships to traverse.

“The only way for the enemy is to respect the Iranian nation and observe the legitimate rights of the Islamic republic,” he said.

On Monday, Iran said it had responded to a new US proposal, adding that diplomatic exchanges were continuing despite Iranian media reports describing Washington’s demands as excessive.

The day before, Iran’s Fars news agency said Washington had presented a five-point list, which included a demand for Iran to keep only one nuclear site in operation and transfer its stockpile of highly enriched uranium to the United States.

The US had refused to release “even 25 percent” of Iran’s assets frozen abroad or pay any reparations for war damage, Fars added.

The report said the US had also made clear it would only cease hostilities when Tehran engages in formal peace negotiations.

Iran however has said it insists on its own demands, including the release of the frozen assets, the lifting of long-standing sanctions on the country and war reparations.