As Trump threatens a strike if no deal is reached, Iranian officials vow a far deadlier retaliation than in the last conflict, saying any attack would ignite the region and leave no American interests safe

Amid rising tensions between the United States and Iran, the Islamic Republic has signaled to America’s regional allies that it is prepared to respond forcefully to any attack on its territory — and far more lethally than its restrained response last year.

The warning comes as U.S. President Donald Trump renewed his threat to strike Iran if no agreement is reached. Iranian officials made clear that, unlike their limited and pre-signaled strike on a U.S. base in Qatar following Operation Midnight Hammer in June last year, any future response would come without advance warning.

Trump responded Saturday night to comments by Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who warned that a U.S. attack would ignite a regional war.

“Why wouldn’t he say that? Of course he’d say that,” Trump told reporters. “We have the biggest and strongest ships there right now, very close, within a few days,” he added — suggesting U.S. forces would be ready for action in the near term. “I hope we make a deal. If we don’t, we’ll see whether he’s right or not.”

Two Western officials familiar with the intelligence told The Washington Post that despite damage to Iran’s missile program during its war with Israel, Tehran still retains the capability to inflict significant harm on U.S. forces, allies and assets across the region. According to the report, “critical elements” of Iran’s missile infrastructure were not destroyed in the June fighting, while others have since been repaired.

Amir Mousavi, a former Iranian diplomat now based in Iraq, told the Post that Iran has doubled missile production since the 12-day war and made significant progress repairing damaged launchers. He said new launch systems have been deployed in mountainous regions, making them difficult to target. “These capabilities cannot be easily neutralized,” he said.

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei said Tehran is reviewing the details of several diplomatic initiatives and expects developments in the coming days. Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi has held talks with counterparts from Egypt, Turkey and Saudi Arabia.

At the same time, Iran’s chief of staff, Maj. Gen. Abdolrahim Mousavi, issued a stark warning. “Our forces are fully prepared for confrontation and for delivering a response strike,” he said. “Our revenge is open-ended. Any mistake by the enemy will be met with an immediate response.”

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