Iranian military vows to fight US and Israel ‘until complete victory’ (PHOTOS, VIDEOS)

Tehran has made no proposals to Washington on ending the conflict or establishing a ceasefire, a high-ranking MP has insisted

Iran maintains a “powerful” military and will fight the US and Israel “until complete victory,” the spokesman for the top Iranian military command, Ali Abdollahi Aliabadi, has insisted.

US President Donald Trump earlier suggested that the Strait of Hormuz could be “open very soon” if diplomatic talks go well with Iran. Tehran, however, has dismissed reports of having any discussions with Washington, with high-ranking MP Yaghoub Rezazadeh calling the US leader’s claims “psychological warfare” and an act of desperation after realizing his inability to defeat Iran.

Following Trump’s promised reprieve, Brent oil prices plunged more than 13%, but soon rebounded to over $100 on Iran’s rejection.

In addition, a gas pressure regulation station in the Iranian city of Isfahan and a gas pipeline to the Khorramshahr power plant were both reportedly damaged on Monday – although it remains unclear whether the strikes came before or after Trump said he had called off US strikes targeting Iranian energy facilities for at least five days.

Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu said that while his “friend” Trump seeks to “leverage the massive achievements of the IDF and the US military” in potential talks, Israel is “continuing to strike” both Iran and Lebanon to keep up the pressure.

Trump upped the ante over the weekend, threatening strikes on Iranian energy facilities if Tehran did not lift its threat to shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, to which Iran responded by publishing a list of power stations and energy facilities across the Gulf that it would target.

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Here are the latest developments:

• Former IRGC commander Mohammad Bagher Zolghadr has been appointed the new secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, replacing Ali Larijani, who was assassinated in an Israel airstrike on March 17.

• The IRGC responded to Donald Trump’s claims of talks being underway between Washington and Tehran by saying that it is “negotiating with the vile, child-killing aggressors through impact-driven operations.”

• Lebanon has declared Iranian envoy Mohammad Reza Shibani persona non grata and ordered him to leave the country until Sunday over what Beirut called violations of diplomatic norms by Tehran.

Follow our live coverage below for continuous updates. You can also read our previous updates here.