Iran has abandoned its policy of negotiating while under attack, a senior military advisor to the Supreme Leader has warned, raising the prospect of a dramatic escalation in the conflict with the United States.
Mohsen Rezaee, a former commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and now a senior military advisor to Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, said Tehran has so far limited its retaliations against American strikes. But that restraint will not last.
“If the US continues bombing Iran, Tehran will launch full-scale offensive operations,” Rezaee said in remarks carried by Iranian state media.
The statement marks a hardening of Iran’s position after months of war that has seen the US and Israel launch repeated rounds of airstrikes against Iranian military and infrastructure targets. Rezaee’s language mirrors the shift from “strategic patience”, the doctrine Iran maintained for years under the slain Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, to open confrontation.
Rezaee laid out Iran’s terms for ending the hostilities. “The war will continue until Tehran receives full compensation for war damages, all economic sanctions are lifted, and the United States provides a guarantee not to interfere in Iran’s internal affairs,” he said in an earlier interview.
He also accused the US and Israel of seeking to occupy Iran and divide it into multiple regions, claiming the goal was to “turn the oil-rich provinces of Khuzestan, Bushehr, and Ilam into another Venezuela.”
The warning comes as the US completes its seventh consecutive night of strikes on Iranian territory. The Trump administration notified Israel this week that it is sending dozens of additional aerial refueling aircraft to the country, a move that signals preparation for deeper strikes into Iran’s interior.
Iran has already broadened its retaliation. Over the past week, Iranian missiles and drones have struck American bases in Kuwait, Bahrain, Jordan, and Iraq. The IRGC also claimed to have hit a US base in Syria, though American forces had withdrawn from that location months earlier.
Despite the escalatory language, the White House continues to insist that Trump is “always open to diplomacy.” On Thursday, Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters Trump would hold Iran “accountable” for its actions but remained open to talks.
Iranian officials have consistently denied that formal negotiations are taking place. Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf said “no type of negotiation has been conducted with the United States of America.” Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baqaei stated that exchanges through intermediaries do not constitute dialogue.
Rezaee’s warning leaves little room for ambiguity. The policy of negotiating during war is over, he said. What comes next depends on whether Washington pulls back or pushes deeper.