US estimates that Iran will retaliate ‘within 48 hours’

Two US officials stated on Monday that US estimates indicate that Iran may carry out retaliatory attacks targeting US forces in the Middle East soon, despite the United States' pursuit of a diplomatic solution that guarantees Tehran's abstention from any attack.

One of the officials, speaking to Reuters on condition of anonymity, said that an Iranian retaliatory attack could occur within the next day or two. Iran threatened to retaliate after the United States bombed its nuclear sites over the weekend.

Meanwhile, the Chief of Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces, Major General Abdolrahim Mousavi, vowed on Monday to respond decisively to the US strikes that targeted three nuclear sites in the Islamic Republic.

"This crime and violation will not go unanswered," Mousavi said in a video broadcast on state television, stressing that Tehran "will deliver a decisive response to the American mistake."