{"id":94702,"date":"2026-05-02T20:22:14","date_gmt":"2026-05-02T20:22:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/94702\/"},"modified":"2026-05-02T20:22:14","modified_gmt":"2026-05-02T20:22:14","slug":"senior-iranian-officer-warns-war-with-us-likely-after-trump-rebuffs-latest-proposal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/94702\/","title":{"rendered":"Senior Iranian officer warns war with US \u2018likely’ after Trump rebuffs latest proposal"},"content":{"rendered":"

A senior Iranian military officer said on Saturday that renewed fighting with the US was \u201clikely,\u201d hours after US President Donald Trump said<\/a> he was not satisfied with an Iranian negotiating proposal.<\/p>\n

Iran delivered the new draft to mediator Pakistan on Thursday evening, state media reported, without detailing its contents.<\/p>\n

The war, launched by the United States and Israel in late February, has been on hold since April 8, with one failed round of peace talks having taken place in Pakistan.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt this moment I\u2019m not satisfied with what they\u2019re offering,\u201d Trump told reporters, blaming stalled talks on \u201ctremendous discord\u201d within Iran\u2019s leadership.<\/p>\n

\u201cDo we want to go and just blast the hell out of them and finish them forever \u2014 or do we want to try and make a deal?\u201d he added, saying he would \u201cprefer not\u201d to take the first option \u201con a human basis.\u201d<\/p>\n

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On Saturday morning, Mohammad Jafar Asadi, a senior figure in the Iranian military\u2019s central command, said \u201ca renewed conflict between Iran and the United States is likely,\u201d in quotes published by Iran\u2019s Fars news agency.<\/p>\n

\t\"\"<\/a>
\n\t\tA police officer walks past posters of US and Iran talks near a possible venue in Islamabad, Pakistan, April 25, 2026. (AP Photo\/Anjum Naveed)<\/p>\n

\u201cEvidence has shown that the United States is not committed to any promises or agreements,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

Later in the day, Iran\u2019s foreign ministry said it was up to the US whether to pursue a negotiated deal or return to open war, but that Tehran was ready for either outcome.<\/p>\n

\u201cNow the ball is in the United States\u2019 court to choose the path of diplomacy or the continuation of a confrontational approach,\u201d deputy foreign minister Kazem Gharibabadi told diplomats in Tehran, according to state broadcaster IRIB.<\/p>\n

\u201cIran, with the aim of securing its national interests and security, is prepared for both paths,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Israel, which launched the military campaign against Iran jointly with the US six weeks ago, is not represented at the talks. Host Pakistan has no diplomatic ties with Israel and does not recognize its sovereignty.<\/p>\n

The ceasefire declared by Trump last month came with core declared goals of the war unfulfilled, including ensuring that Iran does not attain nuclear weapons, destroying its missile program, and creating the conditions for the Iranian public to overthrow the regime.<\/p>\n

\u2018Like pirates\u2019<\/p>\n

Trump on Friday said the US Navy was acting \u201clike pirates\u201d in carrying out Washington\u2019s naval blockade of Iranian ports.<\/p>\n

Trump made the comments while describing the seizure by US forces of a ship a few days ago.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe took over the ship, we took over the cargo, we took over the oil. It\u2019s a very profitable business,\u201d Trump said in remarks on Friday evening. \u201cWe\u2019re like pirates. We\u2019re sort of like pirates but we are not playing games.\u201d<\/p>\n

Some of Tehran\u2019s vessels have been seized by the US after leaving Iranian ports, along with sanctioned container ships and Iranian tankers in Asian waters.<\/p>\n

The Pentagon estimates Iran has lost $4.8 billion in oil revenue due to the US Navy\u2019s blockade of its ports, the Axios news site reported<\/a> on Friday, citing unnamed Pentagon officials.<\/p>\n

\t\"\"<\/a>
\n\t\tUS forces patrol the Arabian Sea near M\/V Touska, April 20, 2026, after the Iranian-flagged vessel attempted to violate the US naval blockade (US Navy photo)<\/p>\n

In addition to the vessels that have been seized, 31 tankers carrying 53 million barrels of Iranian oil are now \u201cstuck in the Gulf,\u201d according to the officials.<\/p>\n

Some ships are sailing \u201ca costlier and longer route to deliver oil to China for fear of US maritime interdiction,\u201d the officials told Axios.<\/p>\n

The US imposed its blockade on Iranian ports amid the truce as part of an effort to force Iran to accept a ceasefire to permanently end the war.<\/p>\n

The vice speaker of Iran\u2019s parliament meanwhile said Tehran would not \u201crelinquish our rights in the Strait of Hormuz, and the movement of vessels in the Strait of Hormuz will not be the same as before.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ali Nikzad added that under legislation before parliament for managing the waterway, 30 percent of tolls collected would go toward military infrastructure, with the rest earmarked for \u201ceconomic development.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cManaging the Strait of Hormuz is more important than acquiring nuclear weapons,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Iran said last month that it fully reopened the Strait of Hormuz to commercial vessels after a 10-day truce was announced between Israel and the Iranian-backed Hezbollah terror group in Lebanon, but then reimposed it when the US refused to lift its blockade until a permanent agreement to end the war with the US was reached.<\/p>\n

Iran\u2019s judiciary chief Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei said on Friday that his country had \u201cnever shied away from negotiations,\u201d but would not accept the \u201cimposition\u201d of peace terms.<\/p>\n

The White House has declined to provide details on the latest Iranian proposal, but news site Axios reported that US envoy Steve Witkoff had submitted amendments to a previous one putting Tehran\u2019s nuclear program back on the negotiating table.<\/p>\n

The changes reportedly include demands that Iran not move enriched uranium from bombed sites nor resume activity there during talks.<\/p>\n

\t\"\"<\/a>
\n\t\tCentrifuges line a hall at the Uranium Enrichment Facility in Natanz, Iran, in a still image from a video aired by the Islamic Republic Iran Broadcasting company on April 17, 2021, six days after the hall had been damaged in a mysterious attack. (IRIB via AP)<\/p>\n

Iran\u2019s mission to the UN pointed to the United States\u2019 massive nuclear arsenal, accusing it of \u201chypocritical behavior\u201d toward Iran\u2019s own atomic program.<\/p>\n

It went on to insist there was no legal \u201crestriction on the level of uranium enrichment, so long as it is conducted under the IAEA\u2019s supervision, as was the case with Iran.\u201d<\/p>\n

Iran has consistently denied seeking to acquire nuclear weapons. However, it enriched uranium to levels that have no peaceful application, obstructed international inspectors from checking its nuclear facilities, and expanded its ballistic missile capabilities.<\/p>\n


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