Major General Mohsen Rezaei, secretary of the Supreme National Security Council of the Islamic Republic of Iran, warned in an interview with Al-Manar TV that if Iran wanted, nothing would stop it and that in the event of another war, Iran’s strikes on the US would be “stunning” and “unprecedented.” Emphasizing that “the southern suburbs of Beirut are our red line,” he attributed the halt in Israel’s advance toward Beirut to the resistance of Hezbollah and Iranian missiles, and stated that Israel has no choice but to retreat from southern Lebanon. Rezaei also announced an agreement with Oman to create a temporary corridor in the Strait of Hormuz, and announced that the reopening of the waterway would be conditional on Washington accepting Iran’s conditions, including an end to the wars in Lebanon and Gaza.
Publish dateFriday 28 August 2026 - 18:05
Story Code : 364109
Iran’s top security official:
If Iran wanted, nothing would stop it; further strikes on the US would be “stunning”
Beirut is a red line, and Israel has no choice but to retreat
Afghan Voice Agency (AVA) - International: In the opening part of the conversation, Rezaei announced the agreement between Iran and Oman to create a temporary corridor in the Strait of Hormuz and said: "We have agreed to open a temporary corridor for ships to enter and exit through the middle of the Strait of Hormuz. Part of this corridor is in our waters and the other part is in Omani waters. We will jointly manage this entry and exit process. The location of this corridor is completely clear."
Referring to Iran's conditions for opening the Strait of Hormuz, he stated: "If the Americans implement and act according to our conditions, and the Strait of Hormuz is opened after their implementation, the ships will pass through this new route. The issue of the Strait of Hormuz is related to ending the wars throughout the region, especially in Lebanon and Gaza. If the Americans are seeking the opening of the Strait of Hormuz, of course with Iranian management, they must adhere to these conditions."
Emphasizing the change in Iran’s diplomatic approach, he said: “This is our policy in the new diplomacy. That is, we do not follow the Americans or walk alongside them. Rather, America must follow us and walk behind us. We have spoken to them enough in the past. We have announced our conditions. If they accept them, the Strait will open. One of our conditions is the issue of ending the war in the entire region, especially in Lebanon and also Gaza. The war must end and the Americans must announce this.”
Referring to the deep distrust between Tehran and Washington, Rezaei added: “Everything depends on America’s implementation of the conditions. They must agree to our conditions and implement them in order to create trust, because there is a deep gap of distrust between us and America.”
Warning to countries hosting US bases
In response to a question about the possibility of another war, the Secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council said in a warning tone: “Any country from which American warplanes fly to bomb Iran and any country from which American missiles are launched to bomb Iran, we will consider their action as an enemy of ours. For us, there is no difference between the cooperation of the Persian Gulf countries with the US and the military cooperation of other countries with the US.”
He revealed: “That is why some countries, after facing our threats, expelled the American warplanes stationed there from their territories and asked them to leave their countries, because Iran may attack them.”
Response to sanctions and economic blockade; “We will start an economic war”
Rezaei said about Iran’s plan to counter sanctions and economic blockade, which Trump has referred to as “economic doomsday,” “What new thing can America do? We have been under sanctions for more than 15 years. We are under severe sanctions. They have been blockaded at sea for over a month. What else can they do? No country in history has ever been under sanctions like the ones that have been imposed on Iran in the last ten or fifteen years. So, a large part of these statements is propaganda and psychological warfare.”
He added, warning about the consequences of US economic actions: “America has very large companies in the region; oil companies and exploration companies along our borders. There are probably dozens of companies; companies that are doing projects like infrastructure development and airport construction. Some companies are involved in oil extraction. And we have not yet taken any action against the US economy in the region. They are going to wage economic war and we will wage economic war. Let’s see who will cause the most economic damage. Without a doubt, they will be the biggest losers.”
Referring to past experiences, Rezaei said: “Trump talked about the Strait of Hormuz many times and called it the Strait of Freedom, then he sent three ships at night from Oman and they turned off their transmitters. Yet we targeted three ships and after 48 hours, he said I will not pursue this! Or, for example, they called their first attack on Iran “the lion attack” but on the 12th day of the war, they were begging for a ceasefire. Well, if you were a lion, what turned you into a fox? And you ran away? So, this rhetoric is largely psychological warfare. Of course, they may take hostile economic measures. But we will take similar measures and we will not sit idle.”
Iran's plan to counter the naval blockade
In response to a question about Iran's plan to counter the naval blockade, he said: "During the ceasefire, we broke the embargo and exported approximately seventy or eighty million barrels of oil, and that We pumped oil into the markets. So, we sell the same amount of oil every day as we used to. Because we had stored oil in tankers, and as soon as the sanctions were lifted, dozens of ships passed through the sanctions zone.”
Rezaei continued: “We have large amounts of oil in the seas and oceans and we sell it. In addition, we have found another route. Although the amount of oil we transport through it is small, we are gradually increasing its amount.”
Relations with China and Turkey in the Shadow of Trump’s Threats
Responding to the question of “what impact will Trump’s threats have on Iran’s economic and trade interaction with its friends such as China and Turkey,” the Secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council emphasized: “China has announced that it will not cooperate with the US in the economic war. We have special relations with our friends in Turkey. During the eight-year war imposed by Saddam against Iran, Turkey was our trade route. Our trade relations with Türkiye and Turkey’s trade relations with us are very deep. I find it unlikely that Turkey will put economic pressure on Iran.”
Message from Pakistani and Omani officials’ visit to Tehran
In response to a question about the message from recent visits by officials from various countries such as Pakistan and Oman to Tehran, Rezaei stated: “These gentlemen (Asim Munir and Badr Al-Busaidi) came to see what Iran’s conditions were for opening the Strait of Hormuz. They asked us to state the conditions so that they could convey them to the Americans. We are preparing a list of conditions for their information. The first stage is currently related to the Strait of Hormuz and that the United States should declare an end to the war in all regions of West Asia, especially Lebanon.”
Iran’s change in strategy from defensive to offensive
In response to the question “How do you explain Iran’s change in strategy from defensive to offensive,” Major General Rezaei said: “We tried to control the scope of the war from the beginning. For example, in the Twelve-Day War when Israel attacked us, we did not initially launch any attacks on American bases. But we did this in the Forty-Day War. Also, in the 17-Day War of Muharram, which began, we bombed American bases in Jordan for the first time so heavily that the US Central Command in the region (CENTCOM) was forced to retreat from Qatar to Jordan and from Jordan to Israel.”
He explained the philosophy behind this strategic shift: “The philosophy behind this is that we want to prove to the world that everything that has happened in the region has something to do with Trump’s stupidity. If we had suddenly expanded the scope of the war from the beginning, world opinion would have condemned us. But today, world public opinion is on our side, as well as public opinion among our people.”
Referring to the change in US approach, Rezaei added: “Of course, if the war starts again, the Americans have concluded that military war alone is not useful. They started economic war and economic pressure, as they say. This shows that they have given up on purely military war. We are preparing ourselves for this stage and our attacks will be different from before.”
Refusing to go into details, he warned: “I don’t want to go into details now, but our attacks will be different and we will deal stunning blows to the Americans. We have prepared ourselves for the new stage. Of course, I emphasize that whatever happens or will happen, it is from the American side. In any event in the region and beyond, the United States will be the main culprit and we are only defending ourselves. Accordingly, we will manage and guide the war in a gradual way.”
Emphasizing humanitarian considerations and public opinion, he said: “We are not just thinking about military victory, but we are trying to ensure that our victories have supporters at the regional and global levels and enjoy a higher level of legitimacy. We are taking into account more and more the human aspects.”
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