Iran has continued issuing stern warnings to U.S. and Israeli forces while outlining conditions for ending the ongoing conflict.
On March 15, Major General Ali Abdollahi, commander of Iran’s Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters, stated that Iranian armed forces had inflicted heavy blows on their adversaries since the United States and Israel launched a military campaign late last month.
General Abdollahi added that the United States and Israel now have no option other than to “surrender” to Iran.
He emphasized that Iran has repeatedly declared it would never initiate a war. However, if its opponents engage in any aggressive or hostile action at any level, Tehran will determine the outcome of that conflict.
Iran unleashes firepower in a new wave of attacks on U.S. and Israeli targets
He reiterated that, following directives from Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei and with the support of the Iranian people, the country’s armed forces are determined to “use all geopolitical capabilities, including managing and controlling the route through the strategic Strait of Hormuz.”
General Abdollahi also stated that Iran’s military is determined to force its adversaries to submit, expressing confidence that Iran will ultimately achieve victory in the conflict.
Mohsen Rezaee, a retired major general and former commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), who now serves on the advisory council to Iran’s Supreme Leader, said that ending the ongoing conflict would require the United States to withdraw its forces from the Persian Gulf.
According to Rezaee, “the U.S. presence in the Persian Gulf has been the main source of instability for the past 50 years.”
“The end of the war is also in our hands,” he said, stressing that a “U.S. withdrawal from the Persian Gulf” is a key prerequisite. Iran also expects compensation from the United States, he added.
Brigadier General Ali Mohammad Naini, spokesperson for the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, challenged President Donald Trump to deploy U.S. warships to the strategic Strait of Hormuz.
“President Trump once said that Iran’s navy had been wiped out, right? If that’s the case, let him send his ships into the Persian Gulf if he dares. The Strait of Hormuz is fully under Iran’s control, and any act of aggression will be met with a decisive response,” the Iranian general warned.
President Donald Trump has claimed that Iran wants to negotiate, but Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi rejected this assertion on March 15.
“We have never proposed a ceasefire, and we have never even proposed negotiations. We are ready to defend ourselves for as long as necessary,” Araghchi said in an interview with CBS’s program Face the Nation.
He also noted that Iran has targeted only U.S. assets and bases in the region as part of its retaliatory campaign, adding that several attacks against Iran had been launched from the territory of Gulf states.
Earlier, Araghchi rejected President Trump’s demand for unconditional surrender, reiterating that Tehran would continue fighting “for as long as necessary.” Trump had previously stated that “there will be no deal with Iran except unconditional surrender.”
According to Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, “the only way to end the current war is to recognize Iran’s legitimate rights, provide war reparations, and establish firm international guarantees to prevent future attacks.”
