Deputy speaker says Iran-US conflict is ‘war of wills’

An Iranian lawmaker said Tehran played a “completely prominent and decisive” role in recent developments in Lebanon, linking the outcome to broader regional diplomacy, including talks in Islamabad.

“The role of the Islamic Republic in these developments has been completely prominent and decisive,” Yaghoub Rezaei said, adding the ceasefire reflects a multi-layered political and field process shaped by regional negotiations.

Rezaei said Iran has sought to support allied groups while managing talks in a way that aligns their interests with broader regional stability.

Iran’s foreign minister invoked “Persian Gulf Day” to push back on alternative naming of regional waterways, while highlighting a post by US President Donald Trump.

Abbas Araghchi said Trump had used the term Persian Gulf correctly, contrasting it with what he described as the Pentagon’s “fake version.”

But he warned that referring to the Strait of Hormuz by any other name would be a “terrible mistake.”

Araghchi shared an image previously posted by Trump on Truth Social, which labeled the Persian Gulf correctly but jokingly referred to the Strait of Hormuz with an alternative name.

Iran’s president told Japan’s prime minister that Tehran was ready to continue diplomacy if Washington stopped what he called its excessive demands and provocative actions, Iranian state media reported.

In a phone call with Sanae Takaichi, Masoud Pezeshkian described US remarks during the blockade of Iranian ports as “unacceptable” and said they violated international law.

He accused the United States and Israel of causing insecurity in the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz, and said what he called “American piracy” against Iranian commercial vessels must be clearly condemned and stopped.

Pezeshkian said Iran was prepared to pursue diplomacy toward what he called a fair solution that protects Iran’s rights and restores peace in the region, but made this conditional on a change in the US approach.

Takaichi, according to the IRNA report, said Japan valued stable and friendly ties with Iran and believed continued dialogue could help reduce regional tensions.

She also thanked Iran for allowing a Japanese vessel to pass through the Strait of Hormuz this week and called for safe passage for other Japanese ships through the strategic waterway.

An account attributed to IRGC aerospace force commander Majid Mousavi warned on Thursday that Iran would respond to US operations with "long and extensive strikes," even if the attacks were brief.

“We will respond to enemy operations, even if they are sudden and short, with painful, long and extensive strikes,” according to the post on Upscroll.

“We saw the fate of your bases in the region; we will see your ships too,” it added.

Australia condemned Iranian government's acts of violence and intimidation, as well as an internet shutdown meant to "conceal the scale of its brutality," a foreign ministry spokesperson told Iran International on Thursday.

“The Australian Government has been consistent in its condemnation of the Iranian regime’s acts of violence and intimidation, including the use of telecommunications blackouts in an attempt to conceal the scale of its brutality,” the spokesperson said .

Australia expelled Iran’s ambassador and three other diplomats in August 2025 over Iran-directed attacks against the Australian community, and has sanctioned more than 220 Iran-linked people and entities.

It has also designated the Islamic Revolutionary Guards as a state sponsor of terrorism, and suspended operations of the Australian Embassy in Tehran.

New Zealand’s foreign ministry also told Iran International on Thursday that Iranians had the right to peaceful protest, freedom of expression and access to information.