Tehran, Iran – State media and Iran’s military and security leadership say they are prepared for a resumption of war with the United States and Israel as they continue to signal opposition to everything Big concessions in the negotiations.
Iranian authorities organized further demonstrations of defiance with military parades on the streets of Tehran on Tuesday evening and into Wednesday, coinciding with the planned end of a two-week ceasefire that US President Donald Trump has now extended indefinitely, according to negotiators didn’t arrive in Pakistan for talks.
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In Enghelab Square (Revolution Square) in downtown Tehran, a Khorramshahr-4 ballistic missile, one of Iran’s longest-range projectiles, was moved through cheering crowds that had gathered to support the Iranian establishment.
A few kilometers north, in Vanak Square, masked men with assault rifles stood atop a truck-mounted launcher for a Ghadr ballistic missile as loudspeakers screamed “Death to America.”
“Seyyed Majid, the precision striker, plow Tel Aviv,” some shouted as they addressed Majid Mousavi, the aerospace chief of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), urging him to order more rocket strikes against Israel.
Motorcades led by pickup trucks singing religious songs also marched through neighborhoods at night, with participants waving flags of armed groups in other countries that are part of Iran’s “Axis of Resistance,” including Lebanon’s Hezbollah.
A clip shared by state media from the gathering in Enghelab Square showed Hossein Taheri, a religious singer, addressing a crowd of supporters while standing next to a wheelchair-bound soldier whose legs and arms were amputated after he was hit by bombs while operating a rocket launcher.
“What else does the U.S. have to do for it to be considered a ceasefire violation?” Taheri asked angrily, adding that the state’s supporters would continue to remain on the streets until they could “take our revenge” for the wounded soldier and others like him.
State media also published additional footage and interviews with armed people, including women, who said they were prepared to fight in the streets.
Authorities have circulated images of pink missiles, drones and assault rifles to emphasize that women support the state’s cause of the conflict. And in an apparent effort to project unity and diversity among its supporters, many of the women featured in the state’s messages do not adhere to strict Islamic hijab standards enforced by the institution.
State television has chosen a tough course in negotiations with the USA. Moderators and analysts argued for military strength in the face of Trump’s threats and ultimatums.
A state television host claimed this week, without citing a source for his claim, that 87 percent of Iranians would rather return to war than make major concessions in the talks. This came after state media repeatedly accused anti-establishment Iranians inside and outside the country of being “warmongers” after some expressed support for military action against Iran in the hope that it would help topple the government.
Another host said Washington needed the war to end but had currently chosen to drag out negotiations to put pressure on Iran Naval blockade of the country’s ports.
The IRGC-affiliated Fars news agency released an artificial intelligence-generated video on Wednesday that showed an angry Trump and his team waiting for Iranian negotiators before displaying humiliations as the president extended the ceasefire on his own.
“Say goodbye to oil production”
The Iranian military authorities waging the war continue to spread messages of resilience.
The military’s headquarters in Khatam al-Anbiya said the forces had “fingers on the trigger” to respond to any aggression with stronger attacks than before, while the IRGC said two ships attempting to sail through the Strait of Hormuz had been seized after failing to obtain required permits.
The IRGC’s Mousavi also warned Iran’s neighbors that they “must say goodbye to oil production in the Middle East region if their territories and facilities are used for further attacks against Iran.”
As Iran’s State-imposed, almost complete internet shutdown The IRGC-affiliated Tasnim news agency suggested that high-speed internet cables on the seabed could be targeted next, triggering a “digital catastrophe” for Iran’s Arab neighbors who rely heavily on such underwater infrastructure.
In New York, Iran’s ambassador to the United Nations, Saeed Iravani, told reporters that another round of negotiations in Islamabad could only take place if Washington lifts the blockade it imposed on Iran.
Hardline justice chief Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Ejei said on Wednesday that “the enemy is not in a position to set a time for us” in response to Trump’s extension of the ceasefire.
Trump said his decision to extend the ceasefire was based “on the fact that the Iranian government is seriously divided” and could not provide a unified proposal. He also said that “Iran is collapsing financially” and its authorities are unable to pay military and police personnel.
Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, speaker of Iran’s parliament and head of his delegation to the first round of talks with the US in Pakistan, has reiterated the message that the establishment will not “surrender” to Trump. But in a video message addressed to the Iranian people earlier this week, the former IRGC commander turned police chief and Tehran mayor struck a slightly different tone than the more bombastic messages from other officials.
“We are not militarily stronger than the United States. It is obvious that they have more money, equipment and facilities,” he said, while pointing to Israel’s military capabilities. “No, we didn’t destroy them, but we are victors on the field in this war.”
Ghalibaf also stressed that Tehran’s main goal must be to “pursue and consolidate the rights of the people” rather than seeking absolute victory, portraying negotiations as a “method of struggle.”
“What answer will hardliners have?”
Many members of Iran’s hardliner-dominated parliament reject any deal that could signal weakness and disappoint Establishment supporters on the street and potentially invite future attacks.
Mahdi Mohammadi, Ghalibaf’s adviser on strategic affairs, said in a tweet on Wednesday that Tehran must “take the initiative” in issuing a “military response” to the naval blockade, as it is as much an act of war as the bombing of the country.
President Masoud Pezeshkian, a relatively moderate with limited power, has also ruled out surrendering to the U.S. and expressed support for the IRGC but said he wants to end the fighting because he believes it benefits no one.
“The solution to the problems lies not in increasing tensions, but in reason, dialogue and avoiding further destruction,” he said this week.
Oil and gas facilities, steel factories, petrochemical producers, power plants, aluminum producers, railway networks and bridges were hit during the 40 days of attacks in which the US and Israel fired thousands of munitions across Iran. Many houses, hospitals, schools and universities were damaged.
Trump has threatened to attack more key civilian infrastructure in order to dispatch Iran “Back to the Stone Age” and destroy its “civilization” if there is no agreement.
Abdolhamid Ismaeelzahi, the Sunni Friday prayer leader in Zahedan and an influential political figure in the southeastern province of Sistan and Balochistan bordering Pakistan, called on Tuesday for a “fair agreement” as the only way out of what he called the impasse.
“The country’s skies are occupied by the enemy, the infrastructure is on the verge of destruction and the armed forces lack the necessary means of air defense,” he said.
“The hardliners who stubbornly stand in the way today, what response will they have tomorrow before God and this oppressed nation to the devastation of their homeland?”
