Iran's IRGC warns war will expand beyond region if US attacks

Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps warned Wednesday that any renewed U.S. or Israeli military action against the country will trigger a war extending far beyond the Middle East region, with strikes in places adversaries do not expect.

In a statement published on its official news site Sepah News, the IRGC said: "If aggression against Iran is repeated, the regional war we have warned about will expand far beyond the region, and our devastating strikes will target places you cannot even imagine, inflicting a crushing defeat on you."

The statement also said: "We are men of war and you will see our power on the battlefield, not in empty statements or virtual pages."

The warning came one day after U.S. President Donald Trump said he had been "an hour away" from ordering new strikes on Iran on Monday evening before Persian Gulf allies—Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates—requested he hold off, citing progress in ongoing peace negotiations.

The IRGC addressed what it called the "American-Zionist enemy," stating that Washington and Israel have failed to learn from what it characterized as repeated strategic defeats. The statement emphasized that despite previous attacks launched by the U.S. and Israel using the full capabilities of their militaries, Iran has not deployed all of its combat capabilities.

"The enemy American-Zionist must know that despite the offensive launched against us with all the capabilities of two armies, the most expensive in the world, we did not employ all the power of the Islamic Revolution," the IRGC said.

Trump had previously threatened to attack Iran if a nuclear agreement was not reached, telling reporters that he would give Tehran "two or three days, maybe Friday, Saturday, Sunday, something like that, maybe early next week" to reach a deal.

On Wednesday, Trump told reporters that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu would do "whatever I want him to do" regarding Iran policy. When asked what he had said to Netanyahu about holding off on potential strikes, Trump replied: "He's fine, he'll do whatever I want him to do."

Pakistan's interior minister visited Tehran on Wednesday for the second time in a week, according to diplomatic sources, as part of efforts to broker a peace deal. A ceasefire has been in place since April 8.

Chinese President Xi Jinping also weighed in, warning that a resumption of hostilities would be "inopportune."

U.S. Vice President JD Vance stated that negotiations are advancing with "good progress."