Drivers drive their vehicles near a large political banner depicting a missile being fired at the back of Iranian demonstrators in solidarity with the government in Tehran’s Variasr Square on April 6, 2026.
Atta Kenare | AFP | Getty Images
Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guards issued a strongly worded statement on Wednesday threatening to escalate the Middle East conflict “beyond the region” if the United States and Israel resume attacks on Tehran.
In a statement carried by Iran’s semi-official Mehr news agency, Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Corps said that if the invasion of Iran is repeated, “the promised regional war will now extend beyond the region and our devastating blows will lead to destruction in unimaginable places.”
The comments came on the heels of some mixed messages from the Trump administration regarding the prospects for a deal to resolve the Iran war.
US President Donald Trump told members of the White House on Tuesday that the US would end the conflict with Iran “very quickly”, insisting that Iran was keen to reach a deal.
US Vice President JD Vance said in a separate press conference that neither President Trump nor the Iranian government wants to resume military operations, and that negotiations between the US and Iran are in a “pretty good” situation.
Asked Tuesday about the length of the conflict, Vance said: “This is not a forever war. We’re going to get the job done and go home.”
President Trump had earlier said there would be two or three days, or until Sunday or early next week, for Iran to come to the negotiating table and threatened further military action against Iran.
The president also said he had “an hour left” to decide whether to attack Iran before being persuaded to postpone it on Tuesday.
The photo, obtained by AFP from Iranian news agency Tasnim, shows an Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) boat believed to be taking part in an operation to seize ships attempting to cross the Strait of Hormuz on April 21, 2026.
Maysam Mirzadeh | AFP | Getty Images
The Iran war has been at an uneasy stalemate for weeks as the two countries vie for control of the strategic Strait of Hormuz, despite a ceasefire in place.
Normally, about 20% of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas passes through the Strait of Hormuz, but shipping traffic has virtually stopped since the war began on February 28.
President Trump has repeatedly threatened further military action against Iran, only to delay the deadline he had set. Recent polls show that a growing majority of Americans view the war, which has dragged on far longer than the four to six weeks the Trump administration had originally planned, to be viewed negatively.
—CNBC’s Kevin Breuninger contributed to this report.
