Tehran is preparing to change its military approach and move towards “full-scale offensive” action as diplomatic efforts to reach a deal to end the war in the Middle East have reached an impasse, an Iranian official told Reuters on Monday.
At the same time, Washington appeared to rule out extending a temporary ceasefire agreement.
The deadlock threatens to prolong the conflict, which began with a US-Israeli attack on Iran on February 28.
Iranian forces and their allies are preparing to “escalate” operations “in the Strait of Hormuz and the wider region”, Reuters reported, citing the unnamed official.
The source said Tehran was moving towards making “decisions” and taking action.
Iran warns of Strait of Hormuz operation
The Iranian official also warned of a future “timely and precise” military operation to break a US naval blockade of Iranian ports in the Gulf if diplomatic efforts fail.
The Strait of Hormuz remains a key point of tension. Under normal circumstances, around one-fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas supplies pass through the strategic waterway.
In mid-June, the so-called Islamabad memorandum of understanding signed by US President Donald Trump and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian set a renewable 60-day deadline for reaching a permanent peace agreement.
The deadline expired on Monday.
However, the agreement, which called for an “immediate and permanent end to military operations on all fronts”, derailed in July amid a dispute over control of the Strait of Hormuz.
Trump rejects extension
Asked by reporters whether his administration was seeking an extension of the deadline set by the June agreement, Trump gave a negative response.
US media reports have meanwhile described unofficial contacts between the Trump administration and Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, whose role has grown since the conflict began.
According to Axios, a US message was reportedly sent to the head of the Revolutionary Guard through an Iraqi Kurdish official acting as an intermediary in mid-May.
Washington reportedly wanted to establish whether the Iranian negotiators it was speaking to also represented the Islamic Republic’s ideological military force. The general was said to have responded positively.
Kushner says contacts continue
Trump’s son-in-law and envoy, Jared Kushner, said from Israel on Monday that contacts between Washington and Tehran were continuing, although he declined to provide further details in an interview with Fox News.
At the same time, Trump again threatened to “bomb” Oman, a historic US ally, if it intervened and blocked a US agreement with Iran.
Oman has been negotiating a bilateral agreement with Iran in recent months concerning the management of the Strait of Hormuz. Both sides have said the process is essentially complete.
“If Oman gets in our way, we will bomb them relentlessly,” Trump said in an interview with Fox News.
The developments come as the Iran war escalation threatens to further complicate diplomatic efforts to end the conflict.
Also read: Trump threatens to bomb Oman if it “gets in the way” of ending Iran war
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