Iran is prepared for a more intense war and will expand its counterattacks if the United States continues to attack its territory and infrastructure, according to a senior official of the Islamic Republic.
Tehran has no intention of backing down in the face of the naval blockade imposed by the U.S. or the attacks on its oil tankers, the official said, requesting anonymity due to the sensitivity of the matter. Although economic pressure is mounting, the Iranian leadership sees the conflict with the United States as an existential threat, leaving little room to retreat and a willingness to keep fighting.
According to the same source, Iran has been rebuilding its military capabilities since the war’s most intense period, which ended in April, and possesses enough missiles to sustain a prolonged conflict.
The statements come at a time when there are no signs of a reduction in hostilities between the two countries, which are now entering the seventh month of war. In the early hours, Washington said that one of its warships had to deviate to avoid an Iranian attack and that, in response, it destroyed five oil tankers belonging to the Islamic Republic.
Subsequently, Tehran launched about 20 missiles at an airbase in Jordan used by the U.S. and attacked additional ships of the U.S. Navy, as well as commercial vessels.
This Wednesday, the semi-official Iranian agency Fars reported that explosions were heard near the coast of Jask, near the Strait of Hormuz, around 7:20 p.m. local time, an episode that could indicate new American attacks.
The exchange of attacks pushed energy prices higher. Brent crude rose above $100 per barrel on Wednesday, marking a gain of about 65% in 2026. In the United States, diesel hit a record price last week, increasing pressure on President Donald Trump to end a conflict unpopular with voters ahead of the November 3 midterm elections.
According to Dina Esfandiary of Bloomberg Economics, many Iranian leaders believe that the Trump administration responds only to threats and escalations of the conflict. They also assess that the White House is more sensitive to a war intensified on the eve of the midterm elections.
This week, Iran’s new security chief, Mohsen Rezaee, stated that the country’s military posture toward American ships and bases has been “fundamentally recalibrated,” signaling a more aggressive approach.
Meanwhile, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, the Speaker of the Iranian Parliament and the country’s chief negotiator in prior cease-fire attempts, said that the era of “proportional responses” has ended.
The war began in late February, when the United States and Israel launched attacks against Iran. Since then, the conflict has evolved into a stalemate, with both sides vying for control of the Strait of Hormuz. There have been no official peace negotiations for months, and there are few signs of a resumption of dialogue.
The United States, concerned about another surge in fuel prices and after consuming a substantial portion of its interceptor missiles, is trying to avoid a return to the large-scale fighting seen in March and April. Instead, Washington seeks to pressure the Iranian economy through the blockade and threats to governments and companies that maintain relations with Tehran.
The aim is to force Iran to fully reopen the Strait of Hormuz and resume negotiations to end the war.
Tehran, for its part, insists that it has the right to manage traffic on the strategic maritime route and continues to target vessels transiting the region without its authorization, increasing the risk of an even greater escalation.
The blockade is already taking a heavy toll on the Iranian economy. With difficulties exporting oil and importing essential goods, inflation is approaching 90% and the rial is suffering a sharp devaluation. The economic deterioration triggered mass protests at the end of last year, repressed by authorities with thousands of deaths.
The Iranian official acknowledged the worsening economic crisis, but said that the country’s leaders believe there is no alternative but to continue the war until they are convinced that Washington will not attack them again in the future.
Some members of the Iranian government, including President Masoud Pezeshkian, advocate negotiations with the U.S. to ease the economic pressure. Still, they say that the White House must first suspend the blockade and return to the terms of the Memorandum of Understanding signed in June, a cease-fire agreement that quickly collapsed.
“There is a debate among the political elites about escalating the conflict or merely resisting,” Esfandiary said. “Despite this discussion, Iran is accelerating and refining its forms of retaliation, suggesting that it has developed a set of responses for different levels of American escalation. The objective is to impose greater costs on the United States.”
© 2026 Bloomberg L.P.
