Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi declared Tuesday that Iran intends to keep fighting for as long as necessary, pushing back against President Donald Trump’s prediction a day earlier that the conflict would end quickly.

At the same time, Iran’s security chief Ali Larijani dismissed what he called Trump’s threats, saying the Iranian public was not intimidated by them.

“Even those greater than you could not eliminate the Iranian nation,” Larijani warned Trump on X. “Watch out for yourself — lest you be eliminated.”

Araghchi’s comments, which also included a rejection of renewed negotiations with Washington, came as Iran launched another wave of strikes targeting Gulf states aligned with the United States. The attacks occurred just hours after Trump expressed confidence that the escalating war would soon come to a close.

Trump’s remarks had helped calm financial markets that had been shaken the previous day by the growing conflict. Stocks in Tokyo and Seoul rebounded sharply, while oil prices dropped by as much as five percent after surging above $100 per barrel the day before.

“It’s going to be ended soon, and if it starts up again they’ll be hit even harder,” Trump told a news conference in Florida on Monday, after telling lawmakers that the campaign would be a “short-term excursion.”

“We’ve already won in many ways, but we haven’t won enough,” Trump said.

Trump also warned that Iran would face a massive military response if it attempts to interfere with global oil shipments.

“We will hit them so hard that it will not be possible for them or anybody else helping them to ever recover that section of the world, if they do anything.”

In an interview with PBS News, Araghchi responded by saying Iran remains ready to continue its missile attacks.

“The firing continues, and we are prepared. We are well prepared to continue attacking them with our missiles as long as needed and as long as it takes.”

Araghchi also dismissed the possibility of further diplomatic talks with the United States, saying previous negotiations had left Tehran distrustful.

Iran’s last direct confrontation with Israel in June 2025 — when the United States briefly joined strikes against Iranian nuclear facilities — also followed a round of negotiations between Tehran and Washington.

“I don’t think talking with Americans anymore would be on our agenda,” Araghchi said, noting that the US had spoken of progress after three rounds of talks, before it launched the opening strikes of the campaign on February 28 along with Israel.

He further argued that the United States and Israel had failed in their early attempts to destabilize Iran’s leadership and were now operating without a clear objective.

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps issued its own response to Trump, declaring that Iran itself would decide when the war ends and repeating warnings that oil shipments from the region could be halted if attacks continue.

Iran has already effectively prevented tankers from passing through the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow passage linking the Persian Gulf with the Gulf of Oman and the Indian Ocean. Roughly one-fifth of the world’s oil supply normally travels through that route. According to the International Maritime Organization, recent attacks on commercial ships near the strait have killed at least seven sailors.

Trump later repeated his warning in a message posted on Truth Social.

“If Iran does anything that stops the flow of Oil within the Strait of Hormuz, they will be hit by the United States of America TWENTY TIMES HARDER than they have been hit thus far,” he said.

{Matzav.com}