Overview

• Yahya Rahim Safavi, senior IRGC adviser to Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, said Iran is not in a ceasefire but in a ‘stage of war’ and warned that another conflict with Israel or the United States could erupt.
• Safavi urged Iran to expand its missile, drone, cyber, media and diplomatic capabilities as part of a broader deterrence strategy against potential attacks.
• Israel Defense Forces chief of staff and Iran’s General Staff have both affirmed readiness for further military action, reflecting high operational alert on both sides.
• U.S. President Donald Trump has asserted that Iran requested talks, but Iran’s Foreign Ministry has rejected that claim, leaving diplomatic pathways uncertain.
• Strikes in June by Israeli jets and U.S. forces under Operation Midnight Hammer hit key Iranian nuclear sites at Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan, resulting in a tenuous 12-day ceasefire that remains at risk.