TEHRAN - Iranian Armed Forces spokesperson Brigadier General Abolfazl Shekarchi said on Sunday that Iran retains the initiative in the region despite US provocations and is prepared to deliver a decisive response to any aggression.

“Despite US provocations, the initiative remains in the hands of the armed forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran, and the combat capabilities of Iranian fighters are at a very high level,” he said.

He also warned Iran’s neighbors in the Persian Gulf against enabling US military actions in the region, stressing that any country taking hostile steps against Iran would face a firm and decisive response from its armed forces.

During the late hours of Thursday, the US military struck two Iranian oil tankers near the port of Jask and the Strait of Hormuz, and carried out assaults on several coastal areas overlooking the strategic waterway.

The attacks were met with a strong response by the Iranian military.  
The United States and Israel launched a war on Iran on February 28. In the early hours of the aggression, Iran's Leader Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei and several high-ranking military commanders were martyred. 

Iranian Armed Forces carried out 100 waves of counterattacks during 39 days of war, targeting US and Israeli military assets and inflicting as significant damage on the enemies.

A Pakistan-mediated two-week ceasefire was brokered on April 8, enabling negotiations in Islamabad, where Iran presented a ten-point proposal calling for the withdrawal of US troops and the lifting of sanctions. Despite 21 hours of intensive talks on April 11 and 12, the Iranian delegation returned to Tehran without an agreement, citing deep mistrust over Washington’s willingness to fulfill its commitments. Iran says any deal must include guarantees of non-aggression, the lifting of the US naval blockade on Iranian ports among other conditions.