During the three weeks of the US-Israeli military conflict with Iran, Iran lost several of its top leaders, including Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council Ali Larijani, and Intelligence Minister Esmail Khatib. Despite facing the most serious threats to its regime yet, Tehran has signaled a willingness to prolong the conflict.
According to a CNN report, Tehran’s willingness to continue fighting the US and Israel is an attempt to reshape the wider Middle East region to its advantage. The Islamic Republic regime has suffered severe losses in the past few weeks, with near-daily strikes from the US and Israel eliminating its military command structures and leaders.
Iran’s leaders suggest escalating rhetoric
The Islamic Republic has also weathered the risks of regime collapse, but its surviving leaders continue to project escalating rhetoric. They have repeatedly highlighted Iran’s ability to resist pressure, its apparent disregard for further leadership losses, and its clear intent to prolong the war while continuing to wreak havoc both regionally and globally.
This is despite US President Donald Trump’s repeated calls for “unconditional surrender”. Iran’s leaders portray themselves as winners and express a hard line for peace. Tehran is now demanding a new regional “status quo”, war reparations, along with a reworking of long-standing alliances between its Arab neighbors and the US.
It will continue to fight until the enemy regrets its aggression: Iran
Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, the speaker of parliament and one of Iran’s most senior surviving officials, said the ceasefire would only make sense if it ensured that the conflict did not resume, and not if it allowed the “enemy” a chance to fix its problems, such as repairing destroyed radars or addressing a shortage of anti-missile missiles, only to strike again.
He added that Tehran will continue to fight “until the enemy truly regrets its aggression and until appropriate political and security conditions are created in the world and in the region.”
Iran seeks a new protocol after the war
Citing Tehran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, the report said the Islamic Republic is now asking for a “new protocol” regarding the Strait of Hormuz in the wake of the war, with national interest in mind. It insisted that the safe passage of ships in the strait should take place under “specific conditions”.
Analysts expect the Islamic Republic could push further by seeking the release of frozen overseas assets or proposing fees for countries using a narrow maritime corridor off its coast in international waters. Ghalibaf wrote in a post on X that the situation in the Strait of Hormuz will not return to its pre-war state.
Iran wants to be part of the new regional balance: Experts
According to Sina Toossi, non-resident director of the Center for International Policy, Tehran is seeking a future in which it is no longer isolated or targeted for collapse; instead, it wants to become part of a new regional balance where the country’s stability is tied to the stability of the Persian Gulf and the global economy.
Tehran may not win the war in conventional military terms, an expert on Middle East studies said, adding that the country’s entire strategy is based on asymmetric warfare “where it is costly to continue the war.” The expert went on to say that Washington and its allies in the Persian Gulf cannot tolerate the disruption of the oil trade indefinitely, but the question is at what point they will say “enough.”
