Iran: ‘A new war with the United States could be longer than the last one’ (Iranian army spokesperson)

Kinshasa, November 1^st, 2026 (CPA).- A possible resumption of hostilities between Iran and the United States could lead to a war longer than the previous one, the Iranian army spokesperson has warned on Sunday, following fresh threats from Donald Trump, the international media have reported. “A new war could be longer than the previous one, and the US President would not be in a position to dictate either the timing or the conditions for the cessation of hostilities,” Mohammad Akraminia, spokesperson for the Iranian army has declared. Donald Trump has indicated last Saturday that the United States had destroyed a large part of Iran’s nuclear capabilities but that it still had to “deal with” one or two sites. Furthermore, the United Arab Emirates hopes that on-going diplomatic efforts will prevent a resumption of hostilities between Tehran and Washington, whilst saying it is ready for the “worst”.  “We hope for a diplomatic breakthrough, as it is not in the region’s interests (…) to face a new cycle of confrontation. But as we have already shown in the past, we are also prepared to face the worst,” the UAE President’s diplomatic adviser, Anwar Gargash has declared. In addition, discussions are under way between Iran and the mediators in the conflict, notably Qatar: following the visit this week to Tehran by a delegation from the emirate, Iran has sent envoys to the Gulf country to continue the consultations. “The United States will not allow Iran to ‘hold the region and the world economy to ransom’,” a senior US official present in Manama has insisted. “The negotiation hand has been extended and these channels of communication have remained open and active. At the same time, we are also prepared to take a different course,” Donald Blome, US Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs has declared. It should be noted that the war was triggered on February 28^th by joint US and Israeli strikes against Iran, which has retaliated by targeting, in particular, the Gulf countries allied with Washington. A ceasefire in April brought an end to nearly 40 days of intense bombardment, and a memorandum of understanding aiming to bring the conflict to a definitive end was concluded in June. However, the fragile agreement was felt apart this summer and negotiations have since failed to bring about a lasting end to the war.