Iran military

Tehran (dpa) — The Iranian government has signalled its readiness for a renewed military escalation, following new threats from US President Donald Trump.

“Iran is united and resolutely prepared to confront any military aggression,” Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi wrote on X on Tuesday

“For us, surrender has no meaning. Either we will be victorious or we will become martyrs,” he added.

On Monday, US President Donald Trump said the United States had scheduled military strikes against Iran for today but that he called them off because “serious negotiations” to end the war are under way.

Writing on his Truth Social platform, Trump said leaders of several Gulf states had urged him not to proceed with the attack, and that he agreed to their request.

On February 28, the US and Israel began large-scale attacks against Iran. Tehran responded with counter-attacks against Israel and Gulf Arab states allied with Washington.

A ceasefire, most recently extended unilaterally by Trump, has been in place since early April. However, recurring military skirmishes have threatened to derail it, with no sign of progress towards reopening the critical Strait of Hormuz to oil and gas shipping.

A lack of progress in diplomatic efforts has also fuelled growing frustration in Washington and expectations that major combat operations could soon resume.