The ceasefire in the Middle East is set to end on Wednesday and now Iranian state media claims that the country is ready to to create ‘hell’ for the US and Israel if fighting restarts
Iran says it is “fully prepared” for the end of a ceasefire with the United States and has “surprises” in store as it threatens to unleash “hell”.With the 14-day ceasefire to expire Wednesday, Donald Trump has whipsawed in telephone interviews and social media posts between measured optimism that a deal could soon be reached and warning that “lots of bombs” will “start going off” if there’s no agreement before the ceasefire deadline.And now the semi-official news agency in Iran, Tasnim, states: “Iran is prepared to create another hell for the Americans and Israelis from the very first second of a potential war.”
Pro-government supporters wave national flags during a rally in Iran(Image: ZUMAPRESS.com / Avalon)
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It claimed that with the ceasefire period drawing to a close “and given that American aggression and the declaration of a maritime blockade have prevented the resumption of negotiations”, Iran is fully prepared for the possibility of renewed hostilities.
And it threatened that Iran “has also prepared new surprises for the next round of potential combat”. At the same time it said Iran has considered there is a strong possibility of war breaking out again during the ceasefire and so has “prepared certain military redeployments and a list of new targets for this purpose”.
Iranian state television has issued an on-screen alert saying that “no delegation from Iran has visited Islamabad … so far” as speculation about possible talks with the United States grows.
The on-screen alert likely reflects the internal debate ongoing within Iran’s theocracy as it weighs how to respond to the US Navy’s seizure of an Iranian container ship over the weekend. Iranian state TV is controlled by hard-liners within Iran’s theocracy.
So far, no official has acknowledged that a delegation will be heading to Islamabad, where officials have been on standby for days now for the possible talks.
US Vice President JD Vance is expected to lead an American team to the talks while Iran has offered no word on who could lead its delegation. Last time, parliamentary speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf led the Iranian side.
Qalibaf has accused the United States of wanting Iran to surrender and added that on the contrary, Iran has been preparing “to reveal new cards on the battlefield.”
“We do not accept negotiations under the shadow of threats,” Qalibaf wrote in a post on X on Tuesday. While Trump insisted he feels no pressure to end the war until Iran agrees to his terms. “I am under no pressure whatsoever,” Trump said on his Truth Social platform, “although, it will all happen, relatively quickly!”