Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has issued a stark warning that his country is fully prepared to launch fresh military strikes deep into Israeli territory if provoked again, adding that Tehran does not believe the current fragile ceasefire will hold. In a rare and defiant interview aired on Al Jazeera Arabic, Pezeshkian made it clear that while Iran does not seek war, it will not hesitate to respond with force if attacked.
“We are fully prepared for any Israeli military action, and our forces stand ready to strike deep into the occupied territories once again,” he said, just weeks after a 12-day war that pushed the region to the brink of a broader conflict.
The war, which erupted on June 13 following coordinated Israeli airstrikes on Iranian military, civilian, and nuclear facilities, killed over a thousand Iranians, including hundreds of soldiers and nuclear scientists. Iran responded with a wave of missile and drone attacks targeting Israeli cities and military positions. While Iranian officials say 1,062 Iranians were killed, including 786 military personnel and 276 civilians, Israeli officials reported 28 fatalities and more than 3,000 injuries.
The Iranian president directly blamed the United States for escalating the war, saying that Washington’s support for Israel and its own strikes on three major Iranian nuclear facilities made it complicit. The U.S. had claimed it “obliterated” Iran’s nuclear capabilities in the operation—a claim Pezeshkian sharply rejected.
Calling former President Donald Trump’s statement an “illusion,” Pezeshkian declared, “Nuclear capability resides in the minds of our scientists, not in our facilities. What was destroyed can be rebuilt, but our knowledge remains.”
Tehran maintains that its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes and has no intentions of building nuclear weapons. “We categorically reject possessing nuclear weapons,” Pezeshkian said. “This is our political, religious, human, and strategic position.”
As the region watches with unease, diplomatic negotiations are expected to resume in Istanbul this week. Iranian officials will meet representatives from France, Germany, and the UK (the E3) to discuss the future of the nuclear program and sanctions. Talks with the U.S., which were previously held via Oman, remain suspended after last month’s hostilities.
The E3 has warned Iran that international sanctions will be reimposed by the end of August if meaningful progress is not made. Pezeshkian signaled a willingness to return to talks but stressed that Iran would only engage in negotiations “based on mutual respect and a win-win logic.”
Despite the ceasefire, tension continues to simmer across the region. Iran’s latest warnings appear aimed at deterring further military action while signaling to both Israel and the West that Tehran has not been weakened—militarily or diplomatically.
