Senior Iranian officer says fresh conflict with US 'likely'
- Last updated: May 3, 2026 | 11:28
A senior Iranian military officer said on Saturday that renewed fighting with the US was "likely", hours after President Donald Trump said he was not satisfied with an Iranian negotiating proposal.
Iran delivered the new draft to mediator Pakistan on Thursday evening, state media reported, without detailing its contents.
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.
"At this moment I'm not satisfied with what they're offering," Trump told reporters, blaming the stalled talks on "tremendous discord" within Iran's leadership.
He added that the decision he faced was between whether to "just blast the hell out of them" or to "try and make a deal", saying he would rather not take the first option.
On Saturday, Mohammad Jafar Asadi, a senior figure in the Iranian military's central command, said "a renewed conflict between Iran and the United States is likely".
"Evidence has shown that the United States is not committed to any promises or agreements," he added, in quotes published by Iran's Fars news agency.
Deputy foreign minister Kazem Gharibabadi told diplomats in Tehran "the ball is in the United States' court to choose the path of diplomacy or the continuation of a confrontational approach".
Iran, he said, was "prepared for both paths".
'Terminated'
In Washington, lawmakers were wrestling over whether Trump had breached a deadline to seek congressional approval for the war.
Administration officials argue the ceasefire paused a 60-day clock, after which congressional authorisation would be required -- a claim disputed by opposition Democrats.
"There has been no exchange of fire between United States Forces and Iran since April 7, 2026," Trump said in letters to congressional leaders, adding that the hostilities "have terminated".
In Iran, the war's economic toll is deepening, with oil exports crimped and inflation surging past 50 percent.
"Everyone is trying to endure it, but... they are falling apart," 40-year-old Amir, a Tehran resident, told an AFP reporter based outside the country.
"We still have not seen much of the economic effects because everyone had a bit of savings. They had some gold and dollars for a rainy day. When they run out, things will change."
Agence France-Presse