Iran’s military leaders ramped up their rhetoric against Israel on Thursday and promised retaliation for air strikes on the country last month even as the government said it was open to diplomacy over Iran' nuclear program.
The mixed messages show the contending goals of beleaguered civilian leaders eager to ease heavy international sanctions and an ascendant armed establishment dedicated to confronting Israel and the United States.
Iran would “choose the timing and nature of our response to the Zionist regime, and when the moment arrives, we will act without hesitation," Army Commander-in-Chief Abdolrahim Mousavi said. "Our response will be decisive and uncompromising.”
Other senior officials intensified their warnings. Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Chief Hossein Salami said Iran was determined to respond.
“Our eyes are fixed upon you, and we will fight to the very end. Retribution will come; we will respond with painful blows—just wait and see,” Salami warned.
His deputy, Ali Fadavi, said the showdown would pit justice against falsehood, vowing the world would soon “witness the complete downfall of the Zionist regime.”
The warnings underscore the sky-high tension between regional arch-foes Iran and Israel, even as Iran's civilian leaders told the visiting head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) that it sought to negotiate over its disputed nuclear program.
In an escalating cycle of tit-for-tat attacks that began in April, Iran and Israel have increasingly targeted each other, with tensions reaching new heights.
Iran is now expected to retaliate following Israel’s latest move: a four-hour operation on October 26 that Israel reports significantly damaged Iran’s air defense systems.
Israel’s strike was itself a response to Iran’s October 1 missile barrage, which followed a series of high-profile assassinations attributed to Israel.
These killings included the leader of Hezbollah in Lebanon and a senior Hamas political figure within an IRGC compound in Tehran, an incident widely seen as a stark breach of Iranian security.
Meanwhile, the Iranian government has signaled its readiness for diplomatic engagement on its nuclear program.
On Wednesday, Rafael Grossi, Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), arrived in Tehran to address international concerns over Iran’s nuclear activities.
“Iran is prepared to cooperate with the IAEA to clarify any supposed ambiguities,” President Masoud Pezeshkian assured Grossi, insisting on the “the peaceful nature of our nation’s nuclear activities.”
Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi also highlighted Iran’s willingness to negotiate, saying, “We are ready to engage in talks based on our national interest and our inalienable rights, but we will not negotiate under pressure or intimidation.”
Following his meeting with Grossi, Araghchi reaffirmed Iran’s commitment to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), adding, “Differences can be resolved through cooperation and dialogue.”
According to Reuters, Iran plans to send a message to European powers through Grossi, underscoring its determination to resolve the nuclear standoff with Western nations.
Ali Larijani was meeting with the head of Syria's Supreme National Security Council when a nearby building was hit with three air strikes, according to an unconfirmed report by the Jamaran news website in Iran, which added that Larijani was unhurt.
Several people were killed and injured on Thursday in Israeli airstrikes targeting two residential buildings in the suburbs of Syria's capital, Damascus, according to the state news agency SANA.
Israel's military radio reported that the strikes targeted assets and the headquarters of the Palestinian militant group Islamic Jihad.
While Israel has conducted airstrikes on Iran-linked targets in Syria for years, it has significantly intensified these operations following the October 7 attack last year by the Palestinian group Hamas, which ignited the Gaza war.
Larijani held talks with Hammouda Sabbagh, the Speaker of the Syrian People's Assembly on Thursday afternoon but Iran’s foreign ministry gave no detailed explanation of the itinerary and goals of his trip.
The special envoy, a senior advisor to Khamenei and a former parliament speaker, is no stranger to unofficial diplomacy. He previously played a central role in securing the 25-Year Iran-China Agreement, a controversial deal whose full terms were never publicly disclosed.
During that effort, he bypassed Iran’s formal governmental structures to deliver Khamenei’s message directly to Chinese President Xi Jinping.
Now, operating outside Iran’s traditional diplomatic framework, his Syria visit may be a sign that Khamenei is again relying on direct emissaries to manage critical foreign policy matters.
Bashar al-Assad, whose government survived a rebellion beginning in 2011 largely due to Iranian military and financial backing, occupies a pivotal position in Tehran’s regional security calculus.
Syria’s geographic proximity to Israel and Lebanon makes it a key base for Iran's Lebanese ally Hezbollah in its conflict with Israel.
Over the past year, Israeli strikes have repeatedly targeted Iranian-linked forces and infrastructure in Syria, with high-ranking Iranian and Hezbollah commanders among those killed.
Although Assad has maintained close ties with Iran, he has occasionally distanced himself from Tehran’s broader regional conflicts. Notably, he has managed to mend relations with Saudi Arabia and rejoined the Arab League in 2023 after years of diplomatic isolation.
Assad’s restrained response to the recent escalation following Hamas’ October 7 attack on Israel suggests a cautious approach, even as Syria remains a key theater in Iran’s regional strategy.
The envoy’s meeting with Assad and other officials is being seen as part of Iran’s efforts to consolidate its position in Syria amid heightened regional tensions.
Iranian officials have repeatedly signaled plans for retaliation against Israel for its attack on Iran on October 26 but have refrained from detailing their timeline or approach.
In April and October 2024, Iran launched unprecedented missile attacks on Israel, with the October 1 assault involving around 200 ballistic missiles targeting military installations and urban centers, marking the largest direct attack by Iran on Israel.
These strikes were retaliatory responses to earlier Israeli operations, including airstrikes on Iranian-linked targets in Syria.
In response, on October 26 Israel launched a series of airstrikes against Iranian military assets, including missile facilities and Revolutionary Guard units, aiming to weaken Iran’s capabilities and deter further aggression.
This escalation marked a shift from proxy warfare to direct confrontation between the two nations.
Larijani's visit will mark his second meeting with Assad. The first occurred in February 2020, shortly after the assassination of Qassem Soleimani by US forces in Iraq, a trip that underscored his role as Khamenei’s trusted emissary during critical periods.
As the region braces for further developments, the visit signals Iran’s intent to strengthen its coordination with Syria and reassert its influence in the face of mounting challenges.
The loudspeaker says the next train to downtown Tehran does not stop here as it is fully packed. In less than a minute, passengers are forced to step back from the edge of the platform and watch a train with its doors open dashing away in high speed as passengers inside cling onto whatever that can help keep them on board. A subway train with doors malfunctioning is another sign of breakdown in public services.
The Kayhan newspaper, a hardline daily associated with the office of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, recently suggested that US President-elect Donald Trump should be assassinated, claiming that this would please Allah. Such statements are profoundly unacceptable by any standard. Yet, the government, which maintains tight control over domestic media, allows this newspaper to make threats against a foreign elected official.
The "reformist" press adopts a slightly more moderate tone. Etemad newspaper reported that 12 economists have advised President Masoud Pezeshkian to address the shortage of electricity and fuel by raising prices, suggesting that higher costs will lead to reduced demand. The suggestion comes as 40% annual inflation has impoverished one third of the population in the past five years.
Outside the station, traffic police stop women riding motorcycles. A 16th-century cleric, Mohammad Bagher Majlesi, known as Allamah, or “the most learned man” in Isfahan, issued a ruling in his interpretation of Shariah law that women should not sit on saddles, claiming they might experience unchaste sensations from the contact with the saddle. Confiscated motorcycles line the sidewalk, awaiting a male family member to come and collect them.
For many men and women, motorcycles are the most practical way to navigate Tehran’s heavy traffic. Women are allowed to ride as passengers, and Shariah law generally overlooks it when they hold onto the male driver’s waist for support. There are different rules for the driver’s seat and the passenger seat, as if there were two different Gods governing each position.
The government attempts to strictly enforce hijab regulations, at times using force, though many women continue to resist. The latest enforcement initiative is the Hijab Clinic, also called the “Clinic to Give Up Hijablessness.” The wording gives it the tone of a center for drug rehabilitation. An Iranian journalist commented on X: “This political system clings to absurd measures while grappling with multiple crises. Such a system is bound for decline; power, water, and gas shortages, along with the opening of hijab clinics, are signs of its collapse.”
Despite the government's strict stance on hijab, two of the most widely shared stories on social media this year involve scandals surrounding state officials and celebrities. While authorities say they made a few arrests in Rasht, related to a sex scandal caught on video, they have remained silent about another incriminating video involving the granddaughter of a Friday prayers Imam in a different city.
The government has attributed widespread power outages to its decision to halt the use of polluting fuels in power plants, yet residents continue to complain about the smog that settles over the city like a thick blanket. It was only after mounting criticism that Government Spokesperson Fatemeh Mohajerani acknowledged that some power plants are still burning mazut, one of the most harmful fuels available. An energy expert reports that Iran burned approximately 8.2 billion liters of mazut in urban areas last year. The reason: shortage of natural gas, when Iran has the world’s second-largest reserves.
Amid widespread public frustration over government inefficiency, viral photos have surfaced of five “apple polishers,” including two movie stars, a footballer, a TV presenter, and a wrestling coach, who continue to praise the government’s “achievements” in trivial areas or even compliment the President’s mannerisms. This seems to be a public tactic for naming and shaming those who turn a blind eye to the struggles of ordinary people.
Speaking of naming and shaming, one of the biggest stories circulating involves a whistleblower revealing financial corruption among several former officials, including two former heads of the Iranian Judiciary. Social media users have criticized state-controlled media for selectively covering these cases while omitting others implicated in significant corruption scandals, such as former Tehran mayors Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf and Alireza Zakani, as well as the city's Friday prayer Imam, Kazem Sedighi.
It is these paradoxes and hypocrisies—scandals in a political system that prides itself on chastity, financial corruption in the world’s most prominent theocracy, and a ban on love and alcohol in a land whose literary heritage celebrates both—that led one of Iran’s most renowned contemporary poets, Ahmad Shamlou, to write: “These are strange days, my darling. They flag love at the crossroads, and they smell your mouth at checkpoints to make sure you have not said: I love you.”