Iran’s army warns that any new war with US could be ‘longer than previous conflict’

TEHRAN – Iran warned on Nov 1 that any new war with the United States could last longer than the previous conflict and that US President Donald Trump would not be the one to determine its duration.“A potential future war could last longer than (the) previous conflict, and the American President would not be in a position to dictate the timing or the conditions of its conclusion,” said army spokesman Mohammad Akraminia, according to Iranian state television.He was referring to the most intense phase of the fighting in the war that began on Feb 28 with US-Israeli strikes on Iran, killing the Islamic republic’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.Iran responded by launching missiles and drones across the region, while the militant groups it backs also entered the fray in Lebanon and Yemen.Iran’s Defence Minister Mehrdad Akhlaghi on Nov 1 warned of a “proportionate, decisive, and impactful response” to any attack on the country, according to state TV.“Those who pose threats will not dictate the scope, timing, or consequences of Iran’s defensive response,” he added.Also on Nov 1, Hossein Mohebbi, the spokesman for the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, the ideological arm of Iran’s military, echoed the remarks made by the country’s new supreme leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei in a written message the day before.“In a conflict with America, there are no geographical limitations; a vast theatre has been defined for inflicting damage upon the enemy,” Mohebbi said, according to state TV.Trump said on Oct 31 that the US has knocked out much of Iran’s military but still has to “take care of” one or two targets.“We’ve knocked out their nuclear. We still have to take care of, I would say one or two sites, but we can do that in 10 minutes,” he said. AFP