Iran is showing no sign of moving for peace with fears rising that Tehran may escalate the war and attack Israel.
President Donald Trump cancelled planned US strikes on the Islamic Republic, raising hopes of a diplomatic end to the conflict.
The president said negotiations with Tehran will resume later on Monday but senior Iranian officials swiftly rejected this, with the Foreign Ministry’s spokesman insisting no talks were planned.
Tehran has shown little sign of viewing the US move as an opportunity for de-escalation, and the regime’s rhetoric has become increasingly confrontational.
There are now concerns Iran may be considering attacking Israel, which has avoided becoming a direct target in recent weeks.
One commentator, Morteza Ghoroghi, a senior presenter on Iranian state television, said Iran’s “retaliatory actions” will extend beyond the “regional infrastructure” to include “the infrastructure of the Zionist regime”.
He added: “Israel is where the warmongers must feel the pain."
Senior officials, state-affiliated media and commentators close to the leadership have intensified calls not only for expanding Iran’s newly adopted doctrine of proactive military action across the region, but also for direct strikes against Israel.
The IRGC-linked Fars News Agency swiftly rejected President Trump's assertion that the Strait of Hormuz would soon reopen, insisting that no agreement had been reached.
Citing military sources, it declared that the strategic waterway would remain under Iranian control and that commercial shipping would only be permitted to use routes authorised by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
US President Donald Trump speaks to reporters aboard Air Force One on Sunday August 02, 2026, on his way back to Washington DC after spending the weekend in California. (Getty Images)Getty Images
That message was reinforced by Hassan Qashqavi, spokesman for the Iranian parliament's National Security and Foreign Policy Commission, who made clear that the closure of the Strait was a strategic decision taken by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
"Our armed forces, with full intelligence and operational readiness, are implementing the Leader's directives regarding the Strait of Hormuz and the surrounding waters," Qashqavi said, adding that the Islamic Republic now considers itself to be engaged simultaneously in both a military and an economic war.
The regime's ideological messaging has become equally uncompromising.
In Monday's editorial, the hardline Kayhan newspaper, widely regarded as reflecting the views of the Supreme Leader's office, mocked President Trump for cancelling the planned strikes, portraying the decision as evidence of American weakness rather than restraint.
"This is truly only the beginning," the newspaper declared. "This will mark a time of reckoning."
In recent days, Kayhan has published what it described as a list of critical energy infrastructure across Israel and the Gulf states, urging the IRGC to prepare strikes against them.
Last week, it argued that the world was already entering a Third World War and that Iran should be prepared to play a leading role in the conflict.
Against that backdrop, the newspaper dismissed diplomacy as futile, insisting that negotiations with Washington could never resolve the crisis.
Iran's actions have increasingly mirrored its rhetoric.
Only weeks after signing a memorandum of understanding with the United States, Tehran attacked a Qatari oil tanker in the Gulf on 7 July, accusing it of using an "unauthorised route" through the Strait of Hormuz.
The incident triggered overnight US airstrikes. Although Washington subsequently halted its campaign, Iran continued missile attacks against Jordan and Kuwait, while Iran-backed militias struck Saudi oil facilities.
Egypt was also hit by a drone attack. Iranian officials and state media celebrated the operations as evidence that the Islamic Republic had shifted from a doctrine of deterrence and retaliation to one of pre-emptive military action.
Iran has not attacked Israel in the latest escalation.
Yet statements from senior regime figures and commentators increasingly suggest that Tehran may be considering striking Israel before Jerusalem launches another round of military operations against the Islamic Republic.
Ghoroghi is Iranian state television’s former UN correspondent and is widely believed to have close ties to Iran's intelligence establishment. Responding to President Trump's decision to suspend military action, Ghoroghi argued that Iran's retaliation should extend beyond the Gulf.
"Trump's behaviour, and that of the US Secretary of War, is a clear example of psychological and propaganda warfare designed to pressure the Iranian government and people," he wrote on X.
"Iran's retaliatory actions will not be limited to regional infrastructure; they will also include the infrastructure of the Zionist regime. Israel is where the warmongers must feel the pain."
Another senior parliamentarian, Alaeddin Boroujerdi, indicated that further military action had been delayed rather than abandoned. Referring to recent US and Saudi strikes against the Iran-backed Hashd al-Shaabi militia in Iraq following attacks on Saudi oil facilities, he said Tehran had postponed its response solely out of respect for Arbaeen, the annual Shiite commemoration marking the 40th day after the martyrdom of Imam Hussein.
The observance, which falls on Tuesday this year and draws millions of Iranian pilgrims to Iraq, is among the Islamic Republic's most significant religious events.
"A harsh response will undoubtedly come after this period has ended," Boroujerdi said.
Tehran has also widened its warnings beyond the immediate battlefield. On Sunday, Iran's Foreign Ministry declared that any country providing military bases or logistical support to the United States could become a legitimate target for Iranian retaliation.
Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi specifically warned the United Kingdom and Bulgaria against facilitating US military operations.
The warning followed a series of increasingly explicit threats directed at Britain by Iranian lawmakers. Several MPs have warned that the UK would face consequences if it continued supporting American military action.
Ebrahim Azizi, a hardline parliamentarian, suggested Britain could be targeted through "non-military means" — language widely interpreted as an implicit reference to covert operations or attacks by networks linked to the Iranian regime.
Iran's recent pattern of pre-emptive military action suggests that rather than waiting to respond to perceived threats, the Islamic Republic increasingly appears determined to seize the initiative, presenting offensive operations as a form of deterrence.
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