US seeking to ‘start new war’

Iran’s chief negotiator yesterday said the United States wanted to restart the Middle East war after President Donald Trump said he would attack again unless Tehran agreed to a peace deal.

Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, who warned of a “forceful response”, was speaking after Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said any renewed war would spread far beyond the Middle East.

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“The enemy’s movements, both overt and clandestine, show that despite economic and political pressure, it has not abandoned its military objectives and is seeking to start a new war,” Ghalibaf said in an audio message carried by Iranian media.

A ceasefire on April 8 brought a halt to the US-Israeli conflict with Iran, which has roiled the global economy, but with Washington and Tehran seemingly reluctant to resume the fighting, a war of words has taken its place.

Trump has repeatedly threatened Tehran with renewed military action, while Iranian officials have hit back with their own warnings of devastating action.

Nevertheless, despite sporadic outbursts of violence, the two countries have continued to take part in diplomatic exchanges mediated by Pakistan, aimed at bringing a formal end to the war.

On Tuesday, US Vice President JD Vance told reporters that “a lot of good progress is being made” and “we’re just going to keep working at it”, even as he told Iran the US military was “locked and loaded”.

The Revolutionary Guards issued their own threat yesterday, saying, “if the aggression against Iran is repeated, the promised regional war will this time spread far beyond the region, and our devastating blows will crush you”.

Citing diplomatic sources, official news agency IRNA meanwhile announced a visit to Tehran by Pakistan’s interior minister, his second in less than a week.

On Tuesday, Trump insisted the US retained the upper hand and that Iran was desperate for peace.

“You know how it is to negotiate with a country where you’re beating them badly. They come to the table, they’re begging to make a deal,” he said.

“I hope we don’t have to do the war, but we may have to give them another big hit. I’m not sure yet.”

He has previously made similar claims without a deal being concluded.

However, Trump appeared to tone down his threat yesterday.

Asked whether it has taken longer than expected to reach a deal with Iran, Trump began listing out the durations of other US wars, including in Afghanistan and Vietnam.

“I’m in for three months, and much of it’s been ceasefire,” he said. “We’re going to give this one shot. I’m in no hurry.”

He went on to claim that the US “has essentially taken over” Iran.

The US leader is himself under pressure, with rising energy costs beginning to bite at home.

While the ceasefire brought a halt to the fighting, it has not reopened the vital Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas usually passes.

The future of the waterway is a key sticking point in negotiations, but without a deal, fears are growing for the global economy as pre-war stockpiles of oil are used up.

The strait is also a conduit for around a third of global fertiliser, the loss of which is pushing up food prices and could cause shortages.

Yesterday, the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization warned of “a severe global food price crisis” and a “systemic agrifood shock” from the closure of the strait.

Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan yesterday praised Trump’s decision to “give diplomacy a chance” and urged Iran to seize “the opportunity to avoid the dangerous implications of escalation”.