Israel's Defense Minister Israel Katz said Thursday that Tel Aviv is prepared to resume its war against Iran and is awaiting approval from the United States, warning Tehran could be pushed "back to the Stone Age" if hostilities restart.
"The IDF is ready both defensively and offensively, and the targets have been marked," Katz said in a video statement.
"We are awaiting a green light from the United States – first and foremost to complete the elimination of the Khamenei dynasty... and additionally to return Iran to the Dark Age and the Stone Age by destroying key energy and electricity facilities and dismantling its national economic infrastructure."
"This time the attack will be different and deadly, delivering devastating blows in the most sensitive places," he said in a statement released by his office.
With the attacks on hold, attention has shifted to the shipping lanes off the coast of Iran.
Tehran says it will not consider opening the Strait of Hormuz, normally the route for a fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas, until the U.S. lifts its blockade of Iran's shipping, which Washington imposed during the ceasefire and Tehran calls a violation of that truce.
In a social media post, U.S. President Donald Trump said it was Washington that was in "total control" of the strait, which he described as "'Sealed up Tight,' until such time as Iran is able to make a DEAL!!!".
Trump and his military officials have said Iran's navy is "at the bottom of the sea," but Tehran's speedboats show that it can still wreak havoc on shipping.
Trump cancelled threats to restart attacks on Iran in the ceasefire's final hours on Tuesday. There has been no formal extension of the ceasefire, and no plans have been announced for further talks.
Iranians, who endured six weeks of U.S. and Israeli bombardment before the cease-fire on April 8, described a nerve-wracking environment under threat of renewed attack.
"In a situation that is neither peace nor war, things are somewhat frightening. At every moment, you think that Israel or the U.S. might launch an attack," Arash, 35, a government employee in Tehran, told Reuters by phone.
Pakistan, which hosted talks this month and had been preparing for a second round before it was called off on Tuesday, was still in touch with both sides, a Pakistani government source said. Iranian officials were still declining to commit to attend over the U.S. blockade, the source added. The U.S. was separately due to host a second round of talks between Israel and Lebanon on Thursday, with Lebanon seeking an extension of a cease-fire reached last week in a war that has run in parallel to the Iran war.
