Ceasefire Expires as Iran Warns It May Shift to “Fully Offensive” Policy

Reuters today (Monday) quoted a senior Iranian official who warned that if no progress is made in negotiations with the United States, Iran will “shift to a fully offensive policy.” The official claimed that Iran had set a deadline of several weeks for implementing a new memorandum of understanding, adding: “We will not wait while the United States extends the siege.”

Today marked the expiration of the 60 days set for the ceasefire under the memorandum of understanding signed in June. U.S. President Donald Trump told reporters that “if the war resumes, Washington will lead the campaign, and Israel will support it.”

Trump called on the Iranian regime to surrender, while stressing that he is not setting an ultimatum at this stage: “They need to raise a white flag. I have no timetable; I’m not in a hurry. The number one goal is, and always will be, that Iran cannot possess, in any way, shape, or form, nuclear weapons.”

It should be noted that last Friday, Trump posted on Truth Social and “promised” to severely harm Iran economically. According to reports in the United States, the president is planning a series of new sanctions against Iran, in addition to those imposed by the United Nations and the European Union, including a trade embargo and asset freezes.

The United States alone has imposed maritime, energy, and economic sanctions on Iran, and has also launched a naval blockade. Data from the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) show that the agency has sanctioned more than 1,000 individuals, vessels, and aircraft since Trump began his second term.

The latest measures targeted Iran’s oil fleet, maritime insurance companies, entities and individuals enabling Iran to purchase weapons, as well as digital exchanges, while freezing Iran-linked cryptocurrencies estimated to be worth about $500 billion.