Middle East conflict: Iran warns Israel may break ceasefire, says ‘prepared to give strong response’

Iran's top military commander has expressed serious doubts over Israel’s commitment to the ceasefire that ended the exchange of fire between the two nations.Speaking to Saudi Arabia’s defence minister Prince Khalid bin Salman on Sunday, Iran’s chief of staff of armed forces, Abdolrahim Mousavi warned that Tehran is prepared to retaliate if hostilities resume."Since we have complete doubts about the enemy's (Israel) adherence to its commitments, including the ceasefire, we are prepared to give it a strong response if it repeats the aggression," he said, cited by Reuters quoting Tehran's semi-official Tasnim news agency.Although Iran did not start the war, Mousavi said, the country “responded to the aggressor with all our power.”“We have serious doubts over the enemy's compliance with its commitments including the ceasefire, we are ready to respond with force” he said, reported by state TV, quoted by AFP.The comments came six days after a ceasefire was announced by US President Donald Trump, ending nearly two weeks of intense fighting that began with an Israeli airstrike on June 13 targeting Iran’s nuclear programme.In the days that followed, Israel claimed it had eliminated around 30 senior Iranian commanders and 11 nuclear scientists, and targeted eight nuclear-related facilities along with over 720 military infrastructure sites.

The conflict left more than 1,000 dead, including at least 417 civilians, according to a US-based Human Rights Activists group.Iran retaliated forcefully, launching more than 550 ballistic missiles towards Israel. While the majority were intercepted, the strikes caused widespread damage and killed 28 people.Over the weekend, Iran held state funerals for around 60 individuals, including senior military officials and nuclear scientists, who were killed in the conflict.