Key Points and Summary on Iran – Top Iranian military officials are threatening a “more severe” and “crushing” response should the US or Israel launch new strikes, even as Tehran confirms plans to rebuild its damaged nuclear program.
-At a ceremony this week commemorating senior commanders killed in recent Israeli attacks, Iran’s new Armed Forces Chief of Staff, Major General Abdolrahim Mousavi, warned of a retaliation that would go far beyond the recent symbolic missile strike on a US base in Qatar.
-The defiant rhetoric is seen as a way to manage domestic perceptions after a devastating military campaign, as Iran is currently too weak to risk a wider conflict.
The Iran War Not Over?
As Tehran confirms that plans are underway to restart its nuclear program as soon as possible, the Chief of Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces has warned Israel and the United States against further strikes.
During an interview with Iranian media on Wednesday, Major General Abdolrahim Mousavi promised a more severe response that will go far beyond the largely symbolic missile strikes directed at a U.S. airbase in Qatar.
“Those who were martyred were many great men and unparalleled human beings,” Mousavi said on the sidelines of a ceremony that commemorated the senior commanders and nuclear officials who were killed in Israeli strikes.
“Perhaps it will not be easy to meet men like Martyr Bagheri, Martyr Salami, Martyr Rashid, etc., and the nuclear martyrs.”
Mousavi also said that U.S. strikes have not destroyed the “nervous system of the armed forces” which he said would “never fall apart.”
The ceremony, which took place in Tehran, celebrated the lives of the 935 Iranians killed during the 12-day war, which included scientists, military officials, and civilians. Addressing the audience, Speaker of the Iranian Parliament Mohamad Bagher Ghalibaf put the United States in the spotlight.
Ghalibaf said that Israel would not have been able to fight Iran if it weren’t for the help of the United States and argued that Washington “betrayed the negotiating table” when it conducted strikes in Iran, warning that Iran remains “united in confronting the enemy.”
The comments followed similar threats made on Saturday, June 28, when senior Iranian military officials warned of a severe response if the United States or Israel launch new strikes on Iran.
Brig. Gen. Ramezan Sharif, spokesman for the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), said that Iran’s response would be “more crushing and destructive” and severe enough to “accelerate the collapse of the American regime.”
They are the latest in a long string of threats made by Tehran, both before and after Operation Midnight Hammer. The comments, however, are more likely to influence domestic opinions than persuade Washington to refrain from taking further action to stop the rebuilding of Iran’s nuclear facilities.
Iran is militarily weak, largely isolated, and under the watchful eye of key global players like China after threatening to disrupt the passage of ships through the Strait of Hormuz.
The threats come as Iran’s nuclear energy agency begins assessing the damage done to the country’s three main nuclear sites and makes plans to begin rebuilding its nuclear program.
About the Author:
Jack Buckby is a British author, counter-extremism researcher, and journalist based in New York. Reporting on the U.K., Europe, and the U.S., he works to analyze and understand left-wing and right-wing radicalization, and reports on Western governments’ approaches to the pressing issues of today. His books and research papers explore these themes and propose pragmatic solutions to our increasingly polarized society. His latest book is The Truth Teller: RFK Jr. and the Case for a Post-Partisan Presidency.
The Best Tanks on Earth
AbramsX: The Tank the US Army Wants
Jim
July 4, 2025 at 9:40 pm
There is a pause, but Iranian officials are on high alert.
But what is the real story?
Iran will not launch unprovoked attacks against Israel.
(But an Israeli attack would generate a massive response.)
Iran demonstrated capacity to inflict pinpoint accuracy hits on sensitive military and economic targets.
The rumors are mixed, but tend towards Netanyahu wanting a cessation of hostilities once he realized the hoped for U. S. buttressed regime change war was not going to happen (Netanyahu was willing to take additional casualties, hits, if that would bring on the U. S. into the war for regime change).
Given the damage inflicted, it’s not in Israel’s interest to attack Iran at this time.
So, we have a situation where it’s in neither side’s interest to restart the war.
If people were thinking rationally.
Let’s cool off… for some time in the transit of things it’s better for everyone to stop, reconnoiter, and think things through.
The Netanyahu policy of attacking Iran by rolling Trump has failed.
So the issue is enrichment: zero enrichment & total dismantlement versus civilian & commercial purposes at 3.75 percent.
If O it is… then regime change war it will be.
Iran will not give up it’s sovereignty (on civilian enrichment) per the NPT of which they are a treaty signer as are we (Israel is not a signer of the NPT).
I suggest the present IAEA (Grossi & Co.) needs to be replaced and Iran continues to be inspected and continues to be in the NPT, Non-Proliferation Treaty, with Russian & China insuring Iran doesn’t enrich Uranium beyond the 3.75 percent civilian use.
(And gives up the 60 percent enriched Uranium they admit possessing to Russia or China… even the U. S. and gives up unnecessary nuclear centrifuges beyond civilians needs.)
Trump has been back & force on what the United States can agree on.
But remember, zero enrichment – total dismantlement means regime change war, that simple.
It’s a strategic mistake for the U. S. to let Benjamin Netanyahu drag the United States into a war for Israel.
What Netanyahu wants and what is in the interest of the United States are not the same.
Our interests are bigger than Netanyahu’s. We want productive relations with the wider Middle East… not a bitter pill which spoils our relations across the region…
… and quite possibly around the globe.