Iran says army rebuilt in ceasefire

Iran's chief negotiator Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf warned on Saturday of a “crushing” response if Washington resumes hostilities, after US media reports raised the prospect of new strikes.

- Agence France-Presse

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (C) reviews a military parade in Tehran on Tuesday.

(AFP)

Pakistan's powerful army chief--a key mediator in diplomatic efforts to convert an April 8 ceasefire into a settlement -- left Tehran after talks with Iranian officials, who have accused the US of making “excessive demands”.

“Our armed forces have rebuilt themselves during the ceasefire period in such a way that if Trump commits another act of folly and restarts the war, it will certainly be more crushing and bitter for the United States than on the first day of the war,” Ghalibaf posted on social media.

US media outlets Axios and CBS News have reported that the White House is considering renewed strikes.

Ghalibaf made the warning after meeting in Tehran with Pakistan's army chief Field Marshal Asim Munir, a leading figure in international efforts to negotiate an end to the war, which broke out after the US and Israel attacked the Islamic republic on February 28.

Munir arrived in Tehran on Friday and left the next day, Iran’s official IRNA news agency said.