Next war could last longer than previous conflict: Iran

Iran has warned that any future conflict with the United States could last longer than the previous war, saying US President Donald Trump would not be able to dictate its duration or the terms of its conclusion.

“A potential future war could last longer than the previous conflict, and the American president would not be in a position to dictate the timing or the conditions of its conclusion,” army spokesman Mohammad Akraminia said on Sunday, according to Iranian state television.

He was referring to the most intense phase of the war that began on February 28 with US-Israeli strikes on Iran, killing the Islamic Republic’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Meanwhile, Iranian Defence Minister Mehrdad Akhlaghi on Sunday warned that any attack on the country would trigger a “proportionate, decisive, and impactful response”, state television reported.

“Those who pose threats will not dictate the scope, timing, or consequences of Iran’s defensive response,” he added.

In a related development, Hossein Mohebbi, spokesman for the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), echoed remarks made by Iran’s new supreme leader, Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, in a written message a day earlier.

“In a conflict with America, there are no geographical limitations; a vast theatre has been defined for inflicting damage upon the enemy,” Mohebbi said, according to state television.

US President Donald Trump said on Saturday that American forces had destroyed much of Iran’s military capability but still needed to “take care of” one or two remaining targets.

“We’ve knocked out their nuclear. We still have to take care of, I would say, one or two sites, but we can do that in 10 minutes,” Trump said.