Iranian Military Official: “A Return to War Is Inevitable — We Will Not Surrender”

Mohammad Jafar Asadi, a senior official in the Khatam al-Anbia Headquarters (Iran’s military emergency command), said today (Tuesday) that “a renewal of the war with the U.S. is inevitable. We have said many times that we still have not revealed all of our ‘winning cards,’ and there are many cards we will use if necessary.”

According to him, “America wants only our total surrender, and the Iranian nation will never surrender. When there is no surrender, war lies ahead of us. Therefore, we are waiting, and we have no problem with war.” The remarks were quoted by the Iranian news agency IRIB.

At the same time, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) published a statement in local media addressing the situation in the Strait of Hormuz. The statement said that “despite the extensive deployment of American military capabilities on land, at sea, and in the air, Washington was unable to achieve control of the strait even for a short time.” It added that “Iran’s military strength was not harmed, but rather strengthened in both offensive and defensive areas.”

It is worth noting that more than three months after the U.S. and Israel launched strikes against Iran, the Strait of Hormuz remains closed. Iran has not yet responded to the American proposal for a memorandum of understanding that would lead to more in-depth negotiations.

President Donald Trump said last night that negotiations with Iran are continuing and that an agreement would be reached in the coming week to extend the ceasefire, which was agreed to in early April, and to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. The ceasefire has been in place since the beginning of April, but Iran and the U.S. have exchanged fire several times over the past week.