US and Iran Exchange Threats as Israel Stays on War Footing

Israel’s Chief of Staff, Lieutenant Colonel Eyal Zamir, said the military was at the highest state of readiness as Tehran and Washington exchanged threats of war. ‘At the moment, the IDF is at the highest state of readiness and prepared for any development,’ Zamir told assembled division commanders, reported by AFP on Wednesday, 20 May 2026. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) had previously warned that the Middle East conflict would spill beyond the region if the United States and Israel continued their attacks on the Islamic Republic. ‘If aggression against Iran is repeated, the regional war promised this time will spread far beyond the region, and our devastating strikes will destroy you,’ the IRGC said in a statement on their website, Sepah News, as reported by AFP on Wednesday, 20 May 2026. The warning comes after United States President Donald Trump said Washington could strike Iran again if no deal is reached on a settlement to the war in the coming days. Both sides have escalated their threats while exchanging proposals to end the war, which erupted on 28 February. A ceasefire has been in place since 8 April. ‘The American‑Zionist enemy… should know that, although attacks have been carried out against us using the full might of the world’s two most expensive militaries, we have not yet deployed the full power of the Islamic Revolution,’ the IRGC said. On Tuesday (19 May), Trump offered a deadline of a few days to resume the attack if no agreement is reached. He said Arab Gulf leaders had asked him to delay the attack at the last moment the previous day. ‘I am talking about two or three days, perhaps Friday, Saturday, Sunday, something, maybe early next week, a limited timeframe,’ he said. Meanwhile, Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi wrote on the social media platform X that ‘the return of war will bring more surprises.’ Watch also Video: US Vice President reveals much progress on deal with Iran (ygs/isa)