Iran says it is ready to respond if US launches further attack

Iran’s army said on Sunday that it was prepared for another US attack and warned that renewed fighting would bring greater instability and violence across the region. Army spokesman Mohammad Akraminia said Iranian forces were better equipped, trained and prepared than when the conflict began on February 28. “We are more prepared than ever before,” he said, according to the supplied report.

Akraminia said another US attack could follow because Washington was dissatisfied with its position in the region. He warned that neighbouring countries would also be affected if hostilities resumed. The statement came hours after Iran said diplomacy remained the only way to resolve its conflict with the United States and Israel.

Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Tehran’s conditions for reopening the Strait of Hormuz had not changed. Iran’s proposal, conveyed through Qatari mediators, calls for a seven-day countdown to reopening the strait and a pause in regional fighting. It would then lead to wider negotiations on issues agreed by both sides, potentially including Iran’s nuclear programme.

US President Donald Trump said on Saturday that he had rejected the proposal. He argued that Iran wanted the waterway reopened while under pressure. Araghchi said mediators had not yet delivered Washington’s formal response and that Tehran would decide after receiving it.

Shipping through the Strait of Hormuz has fallen sharply during the conflict, disrupting oil flows through the maritime route, according to the report. Iran has said it will not surrender what it describes as its right to enrich uranium or agree to send highly enriched uranium out of the country.