Shea Levin — text status

Iran is prepared for a more intense war with the U.S. and will escalate its counterstrikes if Washington continues attacking Iranian territory and infrastructure, a senior Iranian official told Bloomberg. Tehran has no intention of backing down despite the U.S. naval blockade and attacks; the official claims that Iran has enough missiles for a lengthy conflict. The official acknowledged that Iran’s economic pain is worsening, with inflation approaching 90% and the rial rapidly losing value, but said the country’s leadership believes it has little choice but to continue fighting until Washington becomes too wary to attack again.