Iran's Revolutionary Guards say return to war with US is 'low' possibility despite ceasefire tensions

Iran's Revolutionary Guards said on Wednesday that a return to full-scale war with the United States was unlikely, even as Tehran warned it remained prepared to respond to any attack. The statement came a day after Iran accused Washington of committing the most serious ceasefire violations since the April truce took effect.

What did Iran's Revolutionary Guards say about the possibility of war with the US?

Mohammad Akbarzadeh, deputy political chief of the Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy, said the possibility of renewed war was low "because of the enemy's weakness," adding that Iranian forces were "lying in wait with full magazines." He warned that Iran would "turn the area from Chabahar to Mahshahr into a graveyard for aggressors," naming locations at each end of Iran's southern coast.

What triggered Iran's warning and what did the US say?

On Tuesday, Iran accused the US of committing a "gross violation" of the ceasefire in the Hormozgan region over the preceding 48 hours, following US strikes on missile launch sites and boats attempting to lay mines in southern Iran. Iranian state media reported blasts in the port city of Bandar Abbas, near the Strait of Hormuz, and the Revolutionary Guards said their forces downed a US drone and fired at an F-35 fighter jet. CENTCOM spokesman Captain Tim Hawkins described the strikes as "self-defence" actions to protect US troops.

Despite the escalation, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Tuesday that a peace deal remained within reach. He insisted the Strait of Hormuz would reopen "one way or the other." Stock markets were mixed on Wednesday, reflecting guarded optimism that a deal between the two sides could still be reached.

Where do US-Iran peace talks stand now?

Iran and the US have been engaged in weeks of negotiations, with Pakistan leading mediation efforts. Neither side appears ready to compromise on the key sticking points: the status of the Strait of Hormuz and Iran's nuclear programme. Iran blockaded the strait in retaliation for the war, while the US responded with a counterblockade of Iranian ports.

Iranian state broadcaster IRIB said a senior delegation returned from a two-day visit to Qatar on Tuesday, and Tehran confirmed it was finalising a 14-point framework for ending the war. In a call with Qatari ruler Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said his country was "ready to reach a respectful framework to end the war." Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, in a statement marking Eid al-Adha, declared Washington was losing its influence in the Middle East and warned regional countries against hosting US military bases.

What is happening in Lebanon as peace talks continue?

Israeli strikes on south Lebanon killed 31 people on Tuesday, including at least four children, according to Beirut's health ministry. An Israeli military official confirmed that ground operations were expanding deeper into Lebanese territory. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed on Monday to "crush" Hezbollah, the Iran-backed militant group whose attacks on Israel in early March drew Lebanon into the broader regional conflict.

Iran has demanded that any peace accord cover Lebanon, where an April 17 truce has failed to stop the fighting. The Middle East war began in late February with US-Israeli strikes on Iran and has since engulfed multiple fronts while throwing global energy markets into turmoil.