Iran is prepared for a more intense war with the United States and intends to escalate its counterstrikes if Washington continues attacking Iranian territory and infrastructure, a senior Iranian official warned, insisting Tehran has no intention of backing down despite the American naval blockade and strikes on its oil tankers, Bloomberg reports.

The official, who spoke anonymously because of the sensitivity of the matter, acknowledged that Iran’s economic pain is worsening but said the country’s leadership views the war with the United States as an existential threat that leaves it little choice but to continue fighting. Iran has also been rebuilding its military capabilities since the most intense period of fighting ended in April and currently has enough missiles for a lengthy conflict, the official claimed.

The warning comes as the conflict enters its seventh month. After an Iranian attack on an American warship overnight, the U.S. destroyed five Iranian energy tankers in response. Tehran subsequently fired around 20 missiles toward a Jordanian airbase used by the U.S. and attacked additional American naval and commercial vessels. The continuing strikes have helped push Brent crude above $100 a barrel, while U.S. diesel prices reached a record last week.

Iran’s economy is meanwhile coming under severe pressure from the blockade. With Tehran struggling to export petroleum and import vital goods, inflation has accelerated to almost 90% and the rial is rapidly losing value. Some Iranian officials, including President Masoud Pezeshkian, have advocated negotiations with Washington to ease the pressure, although they insist the U.S. must first lift the blockade and return to the terms of the ceasefire agreement signed in June.

Despite an internal debate over whether Iran should escalate or simply resist, Bloomberg Economics’ Dina Esfandiary said Tehran is developing ways to retaliate “faster and more efficiently” as it seeks to impose greater costs on the United States. The Iranian official said the leadership intends to keep fighting until it believes Washington has become too wary to attack again.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)