Iran warns war with Israel could resume at any time
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TEHRAN: A senior Iranian official warned on Monday (Aug 18) that war with Israel could erupt at any moment, describing the current lull after June’s 12-day conflict as only a temporary halt.
“We must be prepared at every moment for confrontation; right now, we are not even in a ceasefire (agreement); we are in a cessation of hostilities,” said First Vice President Mohammad Reza Aref.
TEMPORARY PAUSE, NOT PEACE
The June fighting saw Israel bombard Iranian nuclear and military sites, as well as residential areas, killing more than 1,000 people, including senior commanders and nuclear scientists. Iran retaliated with missile and drone strikes that killed dozens in Israel.
The United States announced a halt in fighting on Jun 24, two days after it joined the war by bombing Iranian nuclear facilities. But no formal ceasefire was agreed, only an undeclared pause in hostilities.
On Sunday, Yahya Rahim Safavi, a military adviser to Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, told Iranian media the country was “preparing plans for the worst-case scenario.”
“We are not in a ceasefire now, we are in a war phase, it could break down at any time, there is no protocol, no regulations, no agreement between us and the Israelis, between us and the Americans,” he said in remarks carried by the Shargh daily.
NUCLEAR TENSION RISING
Western powers accuse Iran of seeking nuclear weapons through its atomic programme, a charge Tehran denies.
The UN nuclear watchdog says Iran is the only non-nuclear-armed state enriching uranium to 60 per cent, far above the 3.67 per cent cap under a 2015 accord. That level is a short step from the 90 per cent enrichment needed for a bomb.
Britain, France and Germany last week threatened to reimpose sanctions lifted under the 2015 deal. Iranian officials have warned of “serious consequences” and hinted Tehran could quit the nuclear non-proliferation treaty.
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