The war between the US and Iran is “likely” to restart, a senior Iranian official predicted on the heels of comments by President Trump that the US might be “better off” without an agreement.

A “renewed conflict between Iran and the United States is likely,” said Mohammad Jafar Asadi, a high-level officer in Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

Iran wants the US to test its strength, said Ali Rafiei Atani, an IRGC commander in Qazvin province.

“We hope America makes a mistake and tests its power on the ground as well. It was defeated at sea and in the air, and we would like it to test itself on the ground too,” claiming the conflict had “shattered America’s hollow power.”

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), an Iran hawk and a prominent Trump ally, is calling on the president to “finish the job” with more strikes if Tehran continues to be “provocative.”

“We have the capability to increase ship flow” through the Strait of Hormuz, Graham told the Financial Times in an interview conducted Thursday and published Saturday.

The US should do “whatever combination of events is necessary to start the flow” through the Strait, which handles 20% of the world’s oil shipping, Graham said.

Iran’s leadership, which has been decimated by US strikes, wants to reopen the Strait and end the US blockade before reestablishing nuclear talks, according to details of its latest counterproposal, which was presented to intermediaries in Pakistan.

Trump told reporters Friday he was “not satisfied” with the offer.

“Frankly, maybe we’re better off not making a deal at all. Do you want to know the truth? Because we can’t let this thing go on,” he said Friday during an event in West Palm Beach, Florida.

The conflict, which began Feb. 28, had “been going on too long,” the president added. A temporary ceasefire agreement was reached on April 8.

On the diplomatic front, the head of the Nobel Peace Prize committee is calling on Iran to free Nobel laureate Narges Mohammadi, who is believed to be in urgent need of medical assistance. 

The activist for women’s rights, who has pressed against Iran’s arbitrary use of the death penalty has seen her medical condition “deteriorated seriously,” committee chair Joergen ⁠Watne Frydnes told Reuters. Mohammadi was awarded the prize in 2023 and suffered a “cardiac crisis” while in custody, according to her family.

The markets have been jostled by the “soft closure” of the Strait, which has sent the price of oil spiking to more than $100 per barrel.

The US Office of Foreign Assets Control warned shipping companies on Friday that they could face sanctions for paying off Iranian authorities who have been charging hefty fees to allow safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz.

That followed the State Department’s approval of $8.6 billion in arms sales to key US allies, Israel and Persian Gulf nations, on Friday.

Qatar, which suffered withering Iranian missile attacks during the war, is approved for $4 billion to restock its Patriot missile defenses. Kuwait is approved to purchase a $2.5 billion Integrated Battle Command System, while Israel, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates each got OK’d for purchases of the Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System, a laser guided weapons system.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio made a determination of an emergency in order for the purchases, waiving statutory reviews by Congress.