An Iranian source told CNN that Tehran is looking to end the ongoing conflict, but not in the way Trump wants, stressing that Iran rejects the time limit set by the US President to stop operations.
The source indicated that his country provided “additional guarantees” in the letter it delivered to Pakistan, in reference to the efforts made to contain the escalation and open the door to indirect negotiations between the two parties.
This Iranian position coincides with the escalation of tone by US President Donald Trump in his speech about the war with Iran, where he stated that the United States “can eliminate Iran in one night, and it may be the next night.”
In his statements, Trump described the operation to rescue the crew of an F-15 plane from inside Iran as a “historic operation,” and revealed that American forces were deployed in 7 different locations with the aim of misleading the Iranians during the implementation of the mission.
He explained that the second rescue mission included 155 aircraft, noting that two cargo planes were blown up as a precautionary measure during the operation. He also confirmed that the F15 fighter plane that fell in Iran was “the only plane that was shot down,” considering that its downing was “a stroke of luck,” and described it as the first manned plane to be shot down during the operation.
Trump also revealed that in 37 days, American forces carried out more than 10,000 air sorties over Iran, and bombed more than 13,000 targets since the beginning of the war.
In a related context, the US President vowed to reveal the identity of the person who leaked information about the loss of contact with the American pilot, stressing that he would be referred to court on charges related to national security, and threatened him with imprisonment.
These statements come in light of the ongoing military escalation between Washington and Tehran, with the continuation of intensive air operations and the threat of expanding the scope of strikes in the next stage. On the other hand, Iran insists on ending the war on conditions different from those proposed by Trump.
