Iran threatens to take war “beyond the region” if Trump orders new U.S. attacks

Iran’s powerful Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps warned Wednesday that any renewed U.S. or Israeli attacks would be met with retaliation “beyond the region.”

In a statement, the IRGC said it still had not brought “all the capacities” of the country “into action.”

“But if aggression against Iran is repeated, the regional war that had been warned of will this time spread beyond the region, and our crushing blows will bring you to ruin in places you cannot even imagine,” the statement said.

“We are men of war, and you will witness our power on the battlefield,” the IRGC added, “not in hollow statements or on social media pages.”

President Trump told reporters on Tuesday that he had been just “an hour away” from ordering new strikes on Iran Monday evening, but that he decided against it after a request from several Persian Gulf allies, who he said were voicing optimism that a peace deal could be reached.

Mr. Trump warned, however, that if an agreement isn’t made, he could order a major wave of new strikes “on a moment’s notice.”

Chinese President Xi Jinping said further hostilities in the Middle East would be “inadvisable” and called for a “comprehensive” ceasefire as he spoke with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in Beijing on Wednesday, state media reported.

“A comprehensive ceasefire is of utmost urgency, resuming hostilities is even more inadvisable and maintaining negotiations is particularly important,” Xi told Putin, according to Xinhua news agency.

Russia’s TASS state news agency Wednesday reported that the country stands ready to help end the war in Iran. 

Speaking to TASS, Deputy ⁠Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said, “Russia is ready ‌to provide all possible assistance in resolving this conflict, and the ‌parties involved ‌are well aware of ⁠this.”

In a joint statement after the leaders’ meeting, China and Russia both condemned the U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran as illegal and said they had undermined stability in the Middle East.

CBS/AFP

Iran has called the claim that a girls elementary school bombed on the first day of the war was located within a missile facility an “appalling lie.”

The head of U.S. Central Command Adm. Brad Cooper told the House Armed Services Committee Tuesday that the strike, which killed more than 165 people on the first day of the war, was still under investigation. He said it was complex as the school was on a missile site operated by Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard.

But on Wednesday, Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Beqaei called that assertion “a baseless fabrication and an appalling lie” in a post on X.

“This shameless distortion is a clear attempt to obscure the severe reality of the 28 February missile attacks,” he said, describing it as a “clear war crime.”

“The military commanders and United States authorities responsible for ordering and executing this catastrophic assault must be held fully accountable under international law,” he added.

Adm. Cooper said Tuesday that he’s committed to transparency once the investigation is complete. But Democratic Rep. Adam Smith of Washington said, “I do not trust that answer.”

Smith said he respects Cooper, but accused Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth of showing a “callous disregard” for protecting civilian life.

An early American assessment of the strike suggested that the U.S. was “likely” responsible for the strike, CBS News reported early March.

CBS/AP

The Senate advanced a resolution to limit President Trump’s war powers in Iran on Tuesday, marking a breakthrough for Democrats after seven failed attempts.

Senators approved a motion to discharge the resolution from committee in a 50 to 47 vote. Four Republicans — Sens. Susan Collins of Maine, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, Rand Paul of Kentucky and Bill Cassidy of Louisiana — joined the bulk of Democrats in favor of advancing the resolution. Sen. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania was the sole Democrat to oppose. 

The vote marked the first time Cassidy supported advancing a war powers resolution. It came days after he failed to win enough support to advance to a runoff in the Louisiana GOP Senate primary, where Mr. Trump endorsed one of his opponents. 

And three Republicans — Sens. John Cornyn of Texas, Tommy Tuberville of Alabama and Thom Tillis of North Carolina — did not vote, tipping the scales in Democrats’ favor for the first time since they began bringing war powers resolutions related to Iran.

The vote marked only a first step in the Senate. And even if both chambers approved the resolution, the president would be expected to veto it. But Democrats say the move would carry significance and have the potential to change the president’s thinking in the war. 

President Trump told reporters Tuesday he was “an hour away” from making the decision to strike Iran on Monday, but that U.S. allies in the Persian Gulf requested he not go ahead with the plan. Mr. Trump made the comments to reporters while offering them a tour of the White House ballroom construction site. 

The president said he would allow a “limited period of time” — two or three days, at least — for talks to continue, saying several Gulf states had told him there was progress in negotiations brokered by Pakistan toward a peace deal. 

Mr. Trump said Monday that he was holding off on a strike on Iran that had been scheduled for Tuesday — plans that had not been mentioned by U.S. officials until the president made his announcement in a Truth Social post.