
We've used just 5% of total potential: Iranian general says only 30% of military strength deployed, warns they are escalating slowly
Tired of too many ads?
Remove Ads
Ceasefire will help weakened enemy, says Iran
'Pakistan will nuke Israel'
Tired of too many ads?
Remove Ads
Pakistan's defence minister calls for Muslim unity
Rising toll from Israel-Iran missile exchange
Iranian Revolutionary Guard senior commander General Mohsen Rezaei has claimed that Iran has deployed only 30 per cent of its current military capabilities and just 5 per cent of its total potential in the ongoing conflict with Israel. He warned that any ceasefire at this stage would allow Israel to regroup and restart attacks. 'We have not yet used all of our weapons, nor the Strait of Hormuz , nor oil, nor naval power, nor the capabilities of our friends and allies,' Rezaei said during a televised interview.Rezaei hinted that Tehran is ready to intensify military operations further if required. Rezaei said agreeing to a ceasefire now would be a strategic mistake. 'Agreeing to a ceasefire at this stage would only reignite conflict allowing a weakened enemy to regroup,' he warned. According to him, Iran is 'steadily intensifying its military campaign,' and the military has deliberately escalated operations slowly.'One of the reasons we are gradually escalating operations is to give people the opportunity to leave the area,' he added.Earlier in the week, Rezaei also claimed that Pakistan had assured Iran it would retaliate with nuclear weapons if Israel launched a nuclear strike on Iranian territory.'Pakistan has assured us that if Israel uses a nuclear bomb on Iran, they will attack Israel with a nuclear bomb,' said Rezaei.The comment was made on Iranian state television, but no Pakistani official has publicly confirmed or responded to the statement.On June 14, Pakistan's defence minister Khawaja Asif addressed the national assembly, saying, 'Israel has targeted Iran, Yemen, and Palestine. If Muslim nations don't unite now, each will face the same fate.'He also urged Muslim-majority nations to sever diplomatic ties with Israel and called on the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) to create a joint strategy in response.Israel launched a coordinated wave of airstrikes across Iran on June 14, targeting military and nuclear infrastructure. In response, Iran launched missile attacks into Israeli territory. Despite growing casualties and regional tensions, Iran has signalled that the conflict could escalate further.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Time of India
an hour ago
- Time of India
High court seeks govt plan and timeline for kabrastan
Panaji: The Bombay high court has asked govt for steps it will take, along with timelines, for the setting up of burial grounds for the Muslim community. The high court is hearing a public petition concerning the lack of burial grounds for Muslims. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now When the court was told that land was also acquired for the Christian community and people of no faith, advocate general Devidas Pangam told the high court that out of the 30,000 sqm of land acquired for a common burial ground at Sonsoddo, 95 per cent is inaccessible because of the steep gradient of the land. He further said govt was able to dedicate only 2,500 sqm for the setting up of burial grounds for the Muslim community. The Margao Municipal Council (MMC) in June unanimously agreed to sign a deed of exchange for land with the Raia comunidade, which is required for an access road to the proposed kabrastan site at Sonsoddo. A survey report revealed encroachments on the access road to the site. The previously acquired 30,000 sqm land from the comunidade for the burial ground in the survey findings highlighted complications with the access route. The high court has repeatedly expressed disappointment over the lack of progress. Despite issuing directives in Oct 2022 for expeditious development of the kabrastan within six months, construction work has yet to start. Community members have also expressed dissatisfaction with the House committee on kabrastan, crematoriums, and cemeteries, which was constituted last year. The committee, comprising representatives from various political parties, was tasked with establishing and regulating common burial grounds across Goa's panchayats and municipal areas. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now Last year, the high court issued a notice to the Chaplain of St Joaquim Chapel at Bornda after officials were reportedly denied access to the kabrastan site through the chapel's cemetery gates. The project has faced several hurdles, including local opposition and terrain constraints.


News18
an hour ago
- News18
Zelenskyy By His Side, Trump Again Claims He Stopped India-Pakistan War
Trump has once again claimed that he stopped India-Pakistan war in May, despite New Delhi's outright rejection of his claims. US President Donald Trump raked up the India-Pakistan conflict again on Monday and claimed that he 'ended six wars" during the as many of months of his presidency. Trump, an aspirant for the Nobel Peace Prize, has claimed on over 25 occasions that he mediated a 'ceasefire" between India and Pakistan during Operation Sindoor using trade as a tool. His repeated remarks were outrightly rejected by New Delhi, even by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who set the record straight on the floor of the Parliament, where he made it abundantly clear that 'no world leader asked India to stop Operation Sindoor". Despite being called out for his unsubstantiated claims, Trump has continued to go on with his statements on India-Pakistan war – the latest in front of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who was at the White House along with several European leaders to find a solution for a war in his country, miles away from Islamabad. Trump acknowledged that he had thought Russia-Ukraine war was the 'easiest one" but it turned out to be a 'tough one". 'The war (Russia-Ukraine) is going to end. When it ends, I can't tell you but the war is going to end and this gentleman wants it to end and Vladimir Putin wants it to end. I think the whole world is tired of it. We are going to get it ended. I have ended 6 wars and I thought that maybe this would be the easiest one. And it's not the easiest one. It's a tough one…India-Pakistan, we are talking about big places," Trump told reporters, with Zelenskyy by his side. 'You take a look at some of these wars, you go to Africa and take a look at that. Rawanda and the Congo – that has been going on for 31 years. We have done a total of 6, not including the fact that we totally obliterated the future nuclear capability of Iran…I feel confident that we are going to get this war off," he added. India has made it clear that it was the Pakistani DGMO who reached out to his Indian counterpart on May 10, seeking a ceasefire. After this, both countries reached an 'understanding" to halt the military operations. view comments First Published: August 18, 2025, 23:56 IST Disclaimer: Comments reflect users' views, not News18's. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Loading comments...


Scroll.in
2 hours ago
- Scroll.in
Brash US ambassador pick for Malayasia marks a turning point in diplomatic ties
President Donald Trump's pick to be the United States' next ambassador to Malaysia has raised more than a few eyebrows in the Southeast Asian nation. Right-wing influencer Nick Adams, a naturalised American born and raised in Australia, is, by his own account, a weightlifting, Bible-reading, 'wildly successful' and 'extremely charismatic' fan of Hooters and rare steaks, with the 'physique of a Greek God' and 'an IQ over 180.' Such brashness seems at odds with the usually more quiet business of diplomacy. The same could be said about Adams' lack of relevant experience, temperament and expressed opinions – which clash starkly with prevailing sentiment in majority-Muslim, socially conservative Malaysia. Whereas the US usually sends a career State Department official as ambassador to Malaysia, Adams is most definitely a 'political' nominee. His prior public service, as councilor, then deputy mayor, of a Sydney suburb ended abruptly in 2009 amid displays of undiplomatic temper. Yet far more problematic for his new posting is his past perceived disparaging of Islam and ardent pro-Israel views – lightning rod issues in a country that lacks diplomatic relations with Israel and whose population trends strongly pro-Palestinian. So it was little surprise when news of Adam's nomination on July 9, 2025, prompted angry pushback among the Malaysian public and politicians. Whether or not Malaysia would officially reject his appointment, assuming Adams is confirmed, remains uncertain, notwithstanding strong domestic pressure on Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim to do so. But regardless, the nomination marks a turning point in US-Malaysian diplomatic relations, something I have been tracking for over 25 years. In my view, it communicates an overt US disregard for diplomatic norms, such as the signaling of respect and consideration for a partner state. It also reflects the decline in a relationship that for decades had been overwhelmingly stable and amicable. And all this may play into the hands of China, Washington's main rival for influence in Southeast Asia. Trump wedge in ties The US and Malaysia have largely enjoyed warm relations over the years, notwithstanding occasional rhetorical grandstanding, especially on the part of former longtime Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad. Having successfully battled a communist insurgency during the mid-20th century, Malaysia remained reliably anti-communist throughout the Cold War, much to Washington's liking. Malaysia also occupies a strategically important position along the Strait of Malacca and has been an important source of both raw materials such as rubber and for the manufacturing of everything from latex gloves to semiconductors. In return, Malaysia has benefited both from the US security umbrella and robust trade and investment. But even before Trump's announcement of his ambassadorship pick, bilateral relations were tense. The most immediate cause was tariffs. In April, the US announced a tariff rate for Malaysia of 24%. Despite efforts to negotiate, the Trump administration indicated the rate would increase further to 25% should no deal materialise by August 1. That the White House released its revised tariff rate just two days before announcing Adams' nomination – and just over a month after Ibrahim held apparently cordial discussions with US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth at the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore – only added to Malaysia's grievance. Malaysia may reap some benefit from the new US trade policy, should Trump's broader agenda results in supply chains bypassing China in favor of Southeast Asia, and investors seek new outlets amid Trump's targeted feuds. But Malaysia's roughly US$25 billion trade surplus with the U.S., its preference for ' low-profile functionality ' in regard to its relationship with the U.S., and the general volatility of economic conditions, leave Malaysia still vulnerable. Moreover, trade policy sticking points for the US include areas where Malaysia is loath to bend, such as in its convoluted regulations for halal certification and preferential policies favoring the Malay majority that have long hindered trade negotiations between the two countries. End of the student pipeline The punishing tariffs the White House has threatened leave Malaysia in a bind. The US is Malaysia's biggest investor and lags only China and Singapore in volume of trade. As such, the government in Kuala Lumpur may have little choice but to sacrifice domestic approval to economic expediency. Nor is trade the only source of angst. The White House's pressure on American institutions of higher education is effecting collateral damage on a host of its ostensible allies, Malaysia included. Although numbers have declined since the Asian financial crisis of the late 1990s, the US has remained a popular destination for Malaysians seeking education abroad. In the 1980s, over 10,000 Malaysians enrolled in US colleges and universities annually. Prior to the Covid-19 pandemic, numbers stabilised at around 8,000. But after, enrollments struggled to recover – reaching only 5,223 in 2024. Now, they are falling anew. In the first Trump administration, the visa approval rate for Malaysian students remained high despite Trump's 'Muslim ban' exacerbating impressions of an unwelcoming environment or difficult process. Now, economic uncertainty from trade wars and a struggling Malaysian currency, coupled with proliferating alternatives, make the comparatively high expense of studying in the U.S. even more of a deterrent. Yet what propelled Anwar's administration to announce that it will no longer send government-funded scholarship students to the US – a key conduit for top students to pursue degrees overseas – was specifically the risks inherent in Trump's policies, including threats to bar foreign students at certain universities and stepped-up social media screening of visa applicants. Looking beyond a US-led order Clearly, Malaysia's government believes that deteriorating relations with the US are not in its best interests. Yet as the junior partner in the relationship, Malaysia has limited ability to improve them. In that, Kuala Lumpur has found itself in a similar boat to other countries in the region who are likewise reconsidering their strategic relationship with the United States amid Trump 2.0's dramatic reconfiguration of American foreign policy priorities. When sparring with China for influence in Southeast Asia, the US has, until recently, propounded norms of a Western-centric ' liberal international order' in the region – promoting such values as openness to trade and investment, secure sovereignty and respect for international law. Malaysia has accepted, and benefited from, that framework, even as it has pushed back against U.S. positions on the Middle East and, in the past, on issues related to human rights and civil liberties. But amid the Trump administration's unpredictability in upholding this status quo, a small, middle-income state like Malaysia may have little option beyond pursuing a more determinedly nonaligned neutrality and strategic pragmatism. Indeed, as the US sheds its focus on such priorities as democracy and human rights, China's proffered ' community with a shared future ', emphasising common interests and a harmonious neighborhood, cannot help but seem more appealing. This is true even while Malaysia recognises the limitations to China's approach, too, and resists being pushed to 'pick sides'. Malaysia is, after all, loath to be part of a sphere of influence dominated by China, especially amid ongoing antagonism over China's claims in the South China Sea – something that drives Malaysia and fellow counterclaimants in Southeast Asia toward security cooperation with the US. That said, Anwar's administration seemed already to be drifting toward China and away from the West even before the latest unfriendly developments emanating from Washington. This includes announcing in June 2024 its plan to join the BRICS economic bloc of low- and middle-income nations. Burning bridges Now, the more bridges the US burns, the less of a path it leaves back to the heady aspirations of the first Trump administration's ' Free and Open Indo-Pacific' framework, which had highlighted the mutual benefit it enjoyed and shared principles it held with allies in Asia. Instead, Malaysia's plight exemplifies what a baldly transactional and one-sided approach produces in practice. As one ruling-coalition member of parliament recently described, Adams would be the rare US ambassador with whom Malaysian politicians would be loath to pose for photos. And that fact alone speaks volumes about diplomacy and evolving global strategic realities in the MAGA era.