Iran officials fear ceasefire may be ‘trap,’ says son of former Iranian commander

A political science professor in Tehran with close ties to Iran’s leadership has warned that officials in the country view the newly announced ceasefire with deep suspicion, suggesting it could be a prelude to renewed attacks.

Speaking to CNN on Wednesday, Hamzeh Safavi, a professor at the University of Tehran and son of a senior Iranian government official and former commander in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, said some Iranian officials believe the ceasefire may be deceptive.

After two rounds of negotiations with Trump's administration, they realized that maybe the real idea on the US side was not to negotiate, Safavi said, adding: "They decided to attack Iran before, and the negotiation was just a trap.”

“So in this round, there are a lot of officials who believe that this two-week ceasefire is again a trap and maybe within these two weeks, the US or Israel will attack again."

Safavi also described strong resolve within Iran’s military leadership, including conversations with his father during the conflict.

“I talked with him, and I think all of them are ready to sacrifice their lives for their homeland, and they see it's a fight and it's an invasion of Iranian territory, Iranian dignity and pride,” he said, adding: “Until now, they see that Iran has the upper hand in this battle.”

Asked about the status of Iran’s new supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, Safavi said he lacked clarity, stating simply: “I have no information about that.”