Khamenei aide warns Iran-Israel war could re-erupt at any time

Iran is busy rebuilding its military in preparation for a new battle with Israel, a top aide to the country's head has said, insisting that the two countries are still at war. 

Yahya Rahim Safavi, military advisor to the Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said there is no ceasefire with Israel, hinting that a decisive conflict with Israel could be approaching.

It comes after a 12-day conflict erupted in June between the two countries, with Israel striking Iranian nuclear facilities and commanders and Tehran launching waves of retaliatory rocket fire at Tel Aviv and other cities.

"We are not in a ceasefire, we are in a stage of war. No protocol, regulation or agreement has been written between us and the US or Israel," he told Iranian media.

"I think another war may happen, and after that, there may be no more wars."

Iran's military capabilities and nuclear facilities are believed to have been badly damaged during the war, with Safavi saying it is necessary to restore Tehran's military deterrence.

"The Americans and the Zionists say they create peace through power; therefore, Iran must also become strong, because in the system of nature, the weak are trampled," Safavi said.

"We must strengthen our diplomatic, media, missile, drone and cyber offensive strategy. We, the military, do scenario-planning, we see the worst case, and we prepare a plan for it."

Hamas, which Israel claims to be an Iranian proxy force, has been at war with Israel since October 2024, resulting in the large-scale devastation of Gaza with at least 61,700 Palestinians killed, the vast majority civilians.

Since then, Tehran-linked Hezbollah has been badly hit, with key commanders of the Islamist movement assassinated by Israel along with hundreds of civilians in Shia-majority areas of Lebanon.

Iran has also lost a key regional ally, former Syrian president Bashar al-Assad, whose regime collapsed in December 2024.

Around 32 Israelis were killed when Iran launched thousands of rockets at Israel, an unprecedented assault that caused unseen material damage for the country and is believed to have badly affected the Israeli economy.