While Donald Trump claims to have suspended strikes against Iran for two to three days, some American officials are warning of a possible diversion, according to the New York Times.
According to these officials, the American president could still decide to launch strikes, despite his public statements. They recall that in February, negotiations were planned between American and Iranian officials just a few days before the start of the war by the United States and Israel.
According to a US military official cited by the newspaper, Iran took advantage of the one-month ceasefire with Washington to clear dozens of bombarded ballistic missile sites, move mobile launchers, and adjust tactics in anticipation of a possible resumption of strikes.
An important part of the Iranian ballistic missiles was deployed in underground facilities, carved into granite mountains that are difficult to destroy from the air. The United States would have mainly bombed the entrances to these sites, burying them without completely destroying them. Tehran has since managed to clear a significant number of them.
The American official also claims that Iranian commanders, possibly with the help of Russia, have studied the flight paths of American fighter jets and bombers. According to him, the destruction of an F-15E last month and shots hitting an F-35 showed that some American tactics had become too predictable.
More broadly, despite five weeks of intensive bombing and the deaths of several Iranian leaders and commanders, Washington is now facing a tougher and more resilient opponent. Iran has repositioned some of its remaining weapons and believes it can resist the United States, particularly by threatening the Strait of Hormuz, Gulf energy infrastructure, or American aircraft.
