Iran army says war will continue until 'full deterrence' achieved

Iran’s parliament speaker said the United States was continuing to send military equipment to the region despite saying it wanted to end the war, adding that the Islamic Republic was prepared for further US moves on Monday.

“The Americans continue to bring new military equipment into the region and say they are seeking to stop the war. They have judged our intelligence by their own limited IQ,” Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf wrote on X.

Ghalibaf, who is leading Iran’s negotiating team, said Iranian officials had become highly experienced in assessing US tactics and had prepared accordingly.

“We have reached the level of full mastery in recognising these American tactics, and we have prepared on that basis,” Ghalibaf said.

Ghalibaf wrote Washington’s conduct would determine whether its public statements were credible.

“Actions must support those statements, not contradict them,” he said.

Iran's economy has become the country's main battlefield after military attacks, President Masoud Pezeshkian said on Monday, warning that mounting economic pressure could fuel public discontent.

Speaking at a meeting of the High Council of the Judiciary, Pezeshkian said Iran was facing a "full-scale war" that extended beyond military confrontation.

He said that worsening economic conditions and pressure on livelihoods could erode public support if social discontent continued to grow.

US attacks damaged a significant portion of Iran's energy and water infrastructure, Energy Minister Abbas Aliabadi said on Monday, adding that authorities hoped to end power cuts in the country's south within five weeks.

Aliabadi told state television that electricity saved through public conservation efforts would be redirected to southern provinces.

He said efforts were underway to restore the affected infrastructure and eliminate electricity outages in southern Iran within the next five weeks.

The Strait of Hormuz cannot be taken out of Iran's control, lawmaker Rouhollah Motefakker Azad said on Monday, adding that Tehran would escalate its military response if the war continued.

Motefakker Azad, a member of parliament's presiding board, told Mehr News Agency that Iran would not back down over the strategic waterway.

"If the war continues, the Islamic Republic will enter it in a more aggressive manner, and then the Americans should more seriously and quickly think about leaving the region," he said.

Iran increased production of missiles, drones and other military equipment during the war rather than scaling it back, acting Defence Minister Majid Ebnolreza said on Monday.

Ebnolreza told lawmakers that production "not only did not stop, but in some areas increased several-fold" during the conflict.

He described Iran's defence industry as the country's main source of deterrence and said the war had demonstrated that advanced technology was essential to offset geographical distance from its adversaries.