JD Vance warns of renewed U.S. strikes, Iran vows to respond with 'surprises'

U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance indicated that the military was ready to resume hostilities in Iran if the peace talks fail. He stated that troops were "locked and loaded" to resume the war if the U.S. objectives weren't met, despite claiming that progress had been made in the negotiations. On the other hand, Iran's Foreign Minister claimed Tehran's forces had "many surprises" up their sleeve if the war resumed, while the IRGC threatened to take the conflict "beyond the region" if the U.S. initiated strikes. 

Sharing an update on the Iran war, Vance said that the U.S. had a "simple proposition" and there are "two paths" for Tehran to go down, one is to hold discussions in "good faith" or resume the war. "Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon," Vance said, claiming that allowing Tehran to develop a nuclear arsenal will cause other countries to follow, setting off a "nuclear arms race" that will make the world less safe. "Iran would really be the first domino in what would set off a nuclear arms race all over the world," he said.

He added that the U.S. was "willing to cut a deal" if Tehran agreed to never having a nuclear weapon, which he described as the "core issue" of the conflict. He then said progress was made in negotiation, but the U.S. had an "Option B," which is to restart the military campaign, if the talks don't go well. "It takes two to tango. We are not going to have a deal that allows the Iranians to have a nuclear weapon. So as the President just told me, we're locked and loaded," Vance added.

The comments came hours after President Donald Trump told reporters that he was just "an hour away" from deciding whether to attack Iran. "We were all set to go. It would have been happening right now," Trump told reporters Tuesday at the White House before claiming that he was persuaded not to go ahead. Before the warning, Iran said it had conveyed another amended set of terms for a potential peace deal to the U.S., claiming it was Washington that requested a ceasefire, not Iran, according to CBS News. 

Meanwhile, Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi took to X to share a stark warning for Washington, in case they were considering resuming the war. Sharing a document from the U.S. Congress on aircraft losses suffered in the conflict, he claimed that Tehran had gained military knowledge from previous hostilities and warned that "a return to war will feature many more surprises."

Furthermore, Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) on Wednesday threatened to take the war far beyond the region if fresh attacks are launched. Citing Iran's semi-official Tasnim news agency, The Guardian reported that the IRGC had issued a statement claiming it would deliver devastating blows if hostilities resumed. "Should aggression against Iran be repeated, the regional war that was promised will this time extend beyond the region, and our crushing blows in places you can scarcely imagine will reduce you to ashes," the statement read, as per the publication.