Wars 2026 02/28 Israel-Iran War 3.0

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Iran Guards vow war will 'spread far beyond region' if US resumes attack

The two sides have escalated their threats while swapping proposals to end the war, which broke out on 28 February

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Iran Guards vow war will 'spread far beyond region' if US resumes attack

AFP
Tehran

Above, a video grab from an Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps footage on March 12, 2026, shows what it says was the ‘launch of wave #41 of Iranian missiles.’AFP

Iran's Revolutionary Guards warned on Wednesday that the Middle East war will extend beyond the region if the United States and Israel resume attacks on the Islamic republic.

"If the aggression against Iran is repeated, the promised regional war will this time spread far beyond the region, and our devastating blows will crush you," the Guards said in a statement on their website Sepah News.

The warning comes after US President Donald Trump said Washington could strike Iran again if no deal on a lasting settlement is reached in the coming days.

The two sides have escalated their threats while swapping proposals to end the war, which broke out on 28 February. A ceasefire has been in place since 8 April.

"The American-Zionist enemy... must know that despite the offensive carried out against us using the full capabilities of the world's two most expensive armies, we have not deployed the full power of the Islamic revolution," the Guards said.

The nearly 40-day war killed top Iranian leaders including supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, triggering retaliatory missile and drone attacks by Tehran across the region.

On Tuesday, Trump offered a deadline of several days for resuming strikes if a deal is not agreed. He had said a day earlier that Gulf Arab leaders asked him to hold off on an attack at the 11th hour.

"I'm saying two or three days, maybe Friday, Saturday, Sunday, something, maybe early next week, a limited period of time," he said.

Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi wrote on X that a "return to war will feature many more surprises".​

 

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Iran examines US proposal to end war

Iran said on Wednesday it was examining a new US proposal to end the Middle East war, as president Donald Trump described the talks as being on the ‘borderline’ between a deal and renewed strikes, reports Agence France-Presse.

www.newagebd.net

Iran examines US proposal to end war

Trump says peace talks on ‘borderline’

New Age Desk 21 May, 2026, 09:55

Women hold Iran's national flags and photos of country's supreme leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei and his predecessor and late father Ayatollah Ali Khamenei during an anti-US and Israel protest at the Hafte Tir Square in Tehran on May 17, 2026. | AFP photo.

Iran said on Wednesday it was examining a new US proposal to end the Middle East war, as president Donald Trump described the talks as being on the ‘borderline’ between a deal and renewed strikes, reports Agence France-Presse.

Trump, who said earlier that negotiations were in their ‘final stages,’ later warned that the window for diplomacy could close quickly.Health & Wellness

‘It’s right on the borderline, believe me,’ Trump told reporters at Joint Base Andrews, near Washington. ‘If we don’t get the right answers, it goes very quickly. We’re all ready to go.’

He said a deal could come ‘very quickly’ or ‘in a few days,’ but warned Tehran would have to provide ‘100 percent good answers.’

Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said Tehran had ‘received the points of view of the American side’ and was examining them. He repeated Iran’s demands for the release of frozen assets and an end to the US blockade of Iranian ports.

Earlier, Tehran’s chief negotiator Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf accused Washington of seeking to restart the war after Trump threatened fresh attacks unless Iran agreed to a deal.

Ghalibaf warned of a ‘forceful response’, while Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said any renewed conflict would spread far beyond the Middle East.

‘The enemy’s movements, both overt and clandestine, show that despite economic and political pressure, it has not abandoned its military objectives and is seeking to start a new war,’ Ghalibaf said.Politics

Six weeks after a ceasefire took effect, efforts to bring the war to a permanent end have intensified in recent days as Pakistan’s military chief, Field Marshal Asim Munir, was set to travel to Tehran on Thursday for ‘talks and consultations’ with Iranian authorities, Iran’s ISNA news agency reported, says Al Jazeera.

Pakistani interior minister Mohsin Naqvi arrived in Iran on Wednesday for his second visit in less than a week to discuss Washington’s latest proposal.

Pakistan in April hosted the only direct negotiations between US and Iranian officials since the war began on February 28.

Munir was at the centre of the talks, which ultimately failed as Iran accused the US of making ‘excessive demands’.

Munir’s announced visit would come a day after Trump warned that talks were on the ‘borderline’ between a deal and the US renewing its attacks on Iran.

‘Believe me, if we don’t get the right answers, it goes very quickly. We’re all ready to go,’ Trump told reporters at Joint Base Andrews outside Washington, DC, on Wednesday.

Trump, who has repeatedly set deadlines for Iran to reach a deal only to delay or cancel them, said he was willing to wait a few days to ‘get the right answers’ from Tehran.

Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi said on Wednesday that his ministry was ready for either talks or a return to fighting.

‘Wherever it is necessary to fight, we will fight, and wherever it is necessary to negotiate, we will negotiate,’ he said.

‘If necessary and if the interests of the system require it, we will be present in the field of diplomacy, dialogue and negotiation with the same determination and strength that the armed forces demonstrate in defending the country.’

Pakistan’s prime minister Shehbaz Sharif will head to China this weekend for talks with president Xi Jinping, Beijing said Thursday, without specifying whether the war in Iran would be discussed.

‘The leaders of China and Pakistan will have an in-depth exchange of views on bilateral relations and issues of common concern,’ said Chinese ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun of the Saturday to Tuesday visit.

Guo added that China would work with Pakistan to ‘make positive contributions to the early restoration of peace and stability in the Middle East’.

‘China supports Pakistan in playing a fair and balanced mediating role in promoting peace and ending the war,’ he said.

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has warned against renewed attacks. ‘If aggression against Iran is repeated, the promised regional war will extend beyond the region this time,’ it said in a statement.

Iran submitted its latest proposal to the US this week. According to Nour News, the proposal was based on Tehran’s original 14-point proposal, which included demands for Iranian control of the Strait of Hormuz, reparations for war damage, ⁠lifting of sanctions, release of frozen assets and the withdrawal of US troops.

Scott Lucas, professor of US and international politics at University College Dublin’s Clinton Institute, said the momentum was on Iran’s side.

‘Iran has the initiative because it formulated a 14-point proposal and, in doing so, shifted the focus to the Strait of Hormuz rather than the nuclear programme. Iran was using its strongest form of leverage, which put Washington on the defensive. Now, the US is scrambling to bring the nuclear file back to the forefront of negotiations.

‘The US does not want to find itself in a worse position than it was on February 26 when it walked away from talks. It’s also worth noting that curbs on Iran’s ballistic missile programme are no longer being discussed nor are Tehran’s links to groups such as Hezbollah.

‘Eventually, I think a settlement will be reached, but we’re dealing with a chaotic and unpredictable president Trump, so a return to war cannot be ruled out.’

Iran has been under a US naval blockade since mid-April, which was launched by Trump in a bid to force Tehran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and accept his terms for a deal.

The US has boarded at least five vessels since the blockade came into effect. On Wednesday, the US military’s Central Command said a ship was searched and redirected after being suspected of trying to travel to an Iranian port.​

 

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42 aircraft lost in Iran war: report

At least 42 United States military aircraft, including fighter jets and drones, have been lost or damaged during the war in Iran, according to an official report, reports NDTV...

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42 aircraft lost in Iran war: report
New Age Desk 21 May, 2026, 22:17

At least 42 United States military aircraft, including fighter jets and drones, have been lost or damaged during the war in Iran, according to an official report, reports NDTV.Health & Wellness

The losses may increase due to multiple factors, including classification, on-going combat activity, and attribution, said the report by the Congressional Research Service.

Recently, the Pentagon declared that the cost of military operations against Iran under Operation Epic Fury has already climbed to nearly $29 billion.

‘A lot of that increase comes from having a refined estimate on repair or replacement costs for equipment,’ said Pentagon finance chief Jules Hurst III during the May 12 hearing.

The aircraft losses and damages include four F-15E Strike Eagle fighter jets, one F-35A Lightning II fighter aircraft, one A-10 Thunderbolt II ground-attack aircraft, seven KC-135 Stratotanker aerial refuelling aircraft, one E-3 Sentry airborne early warning-and-control system aircraft, two MC-130J Commando II special operations aircraft, one HH-60W Jolly Green II combat search-and-rescue helicopter, 24 MQ-9 Reaper medium-altitude long-endurance uncrewed aircraft and one MQ-4C Triton high-altitude long-endurance uncrewed aircraft.

The US Department of Defence has not published a comprehensive assessment of combat losses so far. The CRS, which provides policy and legal analysis to the US Congress and committees, compiled the losses by perusing news reports and statements by the Department of Defence and the US Central Command.

The war in Iran began on February 28, when the United States and Israel launched coordinated military strikes on Iranian targets, killing several prominent figures, including Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.

Iran’s foreign minister, Seyed Abbas Araghchi, posted the CRS report on X, saying that the US said Iran had gained knowledge from two months of combat action before the ceasefire in April. He warned that Tehran will use its learning and will deliver ‘many more surprises’ against the US forces if Trump resumes military action against the Islamic Republic.

‘Months after initiation of war on Iran, US Congress acknowledges loss of dozens of aircraft worth billions. Our powerful Armed Forces are confirmed as 1st to strike down a touted F-35. With lessons learned and knowledge we gained, return to war ‘Months after initiation of war on Iran, US Congress acknowledges loss of dozens of aircraft worth billions. Our powerful Armed Forces are confirmed as 1st to strike down a touted F-35. With lessons learned and knowledge we gained, return to war will feature many more surprises', he said.​