IRGC says won’t stop until 'US leaves region and Israel is destroyed'

Iran’s armed forces chief of staff said the United States turned to regional states to push for a ceasefire during the recent conflict, adding that Washington had surrendered to Tehran’s will.

“US leaders have resorted to begging through some regional countries and have effectively surrendered to the will of the Islamic Republic,” Major General Abdolrahim Mousavi said.

“Once again, we warn the Zionist enemy and its backers that we are fully monitoring their movements, and if any strategic mistake is repeated, we will send the aggressors into the black holes of history,” he added.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Thursday he would continue cooperating with US President Donald Trump to “defeat our common enemies, free our hostages, and quickly expand the circle of peace.”

He posted the message alongside a photo of himself holding hands with Trump.

Khamenei said Israel was “crushed” under Iranian strikes and claimed the US failed to achieve its goals after entering the conflict to protect its ally.

“The Zionist regime, with all its noise and claims, was nearly brought to its knees,” he said, adding that the United States “gained nothing” and received “a harsh slap” in return.

The setting of Thursday’s video appeared identical to his previous wartime address. Iran International previously reported that Khamenei and his family were moved to a secure underground bunker in Lavizan, north of Tehran, shortly after the conflict began.

Iran’s supreme leader says US ultimately seeks 'surrender and defeat of Iran'

In his message, Khamenei responded to recent remarks by US President Donald Trump, who said Iran must “surrender.” Khamenei dismissed the demand as insulting and claimed it revealed the true objective of US policy.

Khamenei said Trump’s remarks revealed that the issue was not Iran’s nuclear program or missile development, but rather a broader effort to force the Islamic Republic into submission. “It’s no longer about enrichment or missiles,” he said. “It’s about surrender. That’s what they want.” He added that such language was “beneath the dignity of a president” and would only strengthen Iran’s resolve. “A country with our history and culture will never accept this kind of humiliation,” he said.

Last week, Trump wrote on Truth Social that the US knew Khamenei’s location and called him an “easy target,” adding, “We are not going to take him out—at least not for now.” He also warned that American patience was “wearing thin.”

Days later, Trump announced a ceasefire between Iran and Israel. Speaking afterward, he appeared to soften his tone, saying, “Regime change takes chaos, and ideally, we don't want to see so much chaos, so we'll see how it does.” He added that the US is preparing for a new round of talks with Iran next week.

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei said Israel was “nearly brought to its knees” under Iranian strikes, in a message published on his Telegram account, three days after a ceasefire took effect.

“I congratulate the great Iranian nation on the defeat of the fake Zionist regime,” Khamenei said, according to his Telegram channel, with the full speech due to be published later.

“Despite all its noise and claims, the Zionist regime was nearly crushed under the strikes of the Islamic Republic.”

In additional excerpts published on his Telegram channel, Khamenei said the United States directly entered the conflict to prevent Israel’s complete destruction but ultimately failed to achieve any results.

“My second congratulations go to the victory of our dear Iran over the American regime,” he said. “The US entered the war directly because it felt that if it did not, the Zionist regime would be completely destroyed. Yet it gained nothing from this war.”

“Here too, the Islamic Republic emerged victorious and delivered a harsh slap to the face of America,” Khamenei added.

Khamenei also praised what he described as the “extraordinary unity” of the Iranian people during the recent conflict.

“Ninety million people stood together, shoulder to shoulder, without any division in their demands or support,” Khamenei said.

He added that this unity would continue in the future.

All US sanctions on Iranian oil remain firmly in place, and the President has offered no clarity on whether his comment marked a formal shift in policy or was simply a gesture of leniency.

A confidential report from Iran’s Oil Ministry, seen by Iran International, suggests that even if sanctions were lifted, Iran is no longer capable of significantly increasing exports.

Capacity eroded

Iran exported an average of 1.4 million barrels per day (bpd) of crude oil and gas condensate to China during the first half of 2025, According to exclusive data obtained by Iran International from commodity analytics firm Kpler.

That is a drop of 12 percent from last year.

In 2017, before US sanctions returned, Iran produced about 4.5 million bpd, exporting 2.5 million bpd and consuming the rest. But domestic consumption has surged, largely due to the expansion of refineries like the Persian Gulf Star.

By 2024, Iran was using over 2.4 million bpd, up 20 percent from 2017, leaving far less available for export.

A compounding factor is the age of Iranian oil fields.

About 80 percent of Iran’s oil comes from aging fields suffering from natural decline, producing about 10 percent less with each passing year.

Burning it all

While new fields have come online, oil and gas investment has dropped to under $3 billion per year, less than half of what it was a decade ago.

“Even if all US sanctions were lifted, Iran’s daily oil exports probably couldn’t exceed 1.7 million barrels per day, due to structural limits in both production and rising domestic consumption,”, senior energy analyst Homayoun Falakshahi told Iran International.

Iran also faces a growing domestic energy squeeze. Gas shortages are forcing it to burn more petroleum products and reducing export capacity even further.

Gasoline use in 2024 rose 7 percent, diesel by 16 and fuel oil (mazut) by 29, according to the same internal Oil Ministry report.

At the same time, China—Iran’s only consistent customer—is scaling back. Last month, exports to China fell to 1.1 million bpd. Projections show little improvement this month.

Floating storage—unsold oil at sea—has hit 40 million barrels. Iran continues to load roughly 1.5 million bpd, but more of it is sitting idle.

Impact uncertain

US sanctions have tightened in recent months, targeting tankers, refineries, and financial intermediaries.

China’s small, independent refiners are now Iran’s main buyers. But these low-efficiency plants rely on deep discounts and face rising pressure. Without those discounts, many may not survive.

Trump’s statement may have been intended as a diplomatic signal rather than a real policy shift. But Iran’s ability to capitalize is in serious doubt.

With underinvestment, surging domestic demand, and shrinking export margins, even full sanctions relief may not restore Iran’s oil exports to pre-2018 levels.

For a country long dependent on oil, hopes of a post-ceasefire boom may prove more symbolic than real.