A senior military adviser to Iran’s Supreme Leader warned Sunday that another war with Israel or the United States remains likely, dismissing the current ceasefire as merely a temporary pause in a broader ongoing conflict.
“We are not in a ceasefire, we are in a stage of war. No protocol, regulation, or agreement has been written between us and the US or Israel,” said senior Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) commander Yahya Rahim Safavi, as quoted by Iran International.
“I think another war may happen, and after that, there may be no more wars,” he added.
Safavi’s comments come amid heightened rhetoric from both sides following a deadly exchange of hostilities in June. Israel’s Chief of Staff has publicly affirmed the IDF’s readiness for further military operations, while Iran’s General Staff has threatened “a far stronger response” to any future attacks.
In his remarks, Safavi stressed Iran’s need to expand its influence regionally and globally. “The Americans and the Zionists say they create peace through power; therefore Iran must also become strong, because in the system of nature the weak are trampled,” he said.
Outlining what he described as Iran’s deterrence strategy, Safavi stated, “We must strengthen our diplomatic, media, missile, drone and cyber offensive strategy… we, the military, do scenario-planning, we see the worst case, and we prepare a plan for it.”
His statements come two months after Israel launched a surprise offensive on June 13, striking military and nuclear facilities across Iran.
On June 22, the US conducted airstrikes targeting Iran’s nuclear infrastructure in Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan. A US-brokered ceasefire was announced two days later, bringing an end to the 12-day aerial conflict.
In the aftermath of the conflict, President Donald Trump suggested that the United States would engage in discussions with Iran.
“We have scheduled Iran talks, and they want to talk,” Trump asserted. He further added, “They’ve requested a meeting and I’m going to go to a meeting, and if we can put something down on paper, that would be fine.”
The spokesperson for Iran’s Foreign Ministry later refuted those claims and stated that Tehran has not requested any meeting with the United States.
Washington has demanded that Iran completely halt uranium enrichment as part of any nuclear deal, a demand Tehran has firmly rejected.