Iran prepares for a new war and turns Hormuz into its main weapon of pressure

Alarm bells rang in Iran on Monday when dozens of Israeli fighter jets approached the country's border in a wide-ranging maneuver that Israel billed as a training exercise.

American sources told Axios that Israel expected Iran to fire on the planes, in an attempt to provoke the regime to resume a conflict that broke out at the end of February, the consequences of which continue to hit the region and international markets.

Tehran, which continues to intensify its attacks against ships in the Strait of Hormuz - with greater violence than in the middle of the war in March - has escalated threats against its enemies.

"No one should underestimate Iran. If they start a war against us, their casualty figures will be ten times higher than ours," the secretary of the Supreme National Security Council, Mohsen Rezaei, warned today.

"Our goal is to end the war under conditions that reduce the likelihood of another conflict. If diplomacy can establish the understanding that taking action against Iran is more costly, we prefer diplomacy," he said.

For his part, US President Donald Trump closed the door to dialogue with Tehran, despite the fact that in recent weeks both sides have exchanged communications through intermediary countries such as Pakistan or Qatar.

"No, we are not negotiating," the Republican leader stated emphatically, adding that "one way or another, something will happen fairly soon."

He said that the United States has dismantled Iran's army, navy and air force, and that the country is mired in one of the worst inflations it has seen in half a century.