Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has signalled that Tehran is prepared for a prolonged conflict with the US, with a senior commander saying the war could continue until the end of US President Donald Trump’s term in January 2029.
Brigadier General Mohammad Reza Naqdi, a senior adviser to the IRGC commander-in-chief, made the remarks in a rare interview with US broadcaster PBS. Naqdi said Iran’s objective was not simply to survive the conflict but to build enough deterrence to prevent future attacks.
“The longer this war lasts, the more experience we gain,” Naqdi said, adding that Iran had learned how to fight the US during the five months of conflict.
Why does Iran want to prolong the war?
Naqdi said prolonging the conflict could help impose costs on its adversaries and strengthen its deterrence.
“We have to attain deterrence so that the enemy never dares to attack us so we can live with security,” he said, according to PBS.
He added that one way to achieve this was to prolong the war until the next US presidential term and cause enough attrition to make any future attack on Iran more costly.
The comments suggest that Tehran could view a lengthy conflict not merely as a military burden but as part of a broader strategy to deter future US or Israeli action.
What has Iran learnt from the war?
Naqdi said the conflict had given Iran something it had previously lacked: direct experience of fighting the US in a conventional war.
“We had never seen a real war to gain real experience to learn how to fight with America,” he told PBS. “In these five months, we have learned how.”
He also claimed that Iran had discovered weaknesses in the and said Washington’s war objectives had not been achieved.
According to Naqdi, Iran had so far prevented the US from achieving what he described as its two main objectives — removing Iran’s leadership and breaking up the country.
He nevertheless acknowledged that Tehran had not yet reached its “final objective”.
Iran claims missile production can sustain a long war
Despite questions over Iran’s remaining missile stockpile, Naqdi claimed that the country’s daily missile production exceeds the number of missiles it launches.
“The number of missiles we manufacture every day is more than the number we launch,” he said.
He declined to disclose where or how the missiles were being manufactured, saying Iran had “various ways to manufacture them securely”.
Naqdi said Iran could continue launching rockets even if the conflict lasted for years.
He also warned that Iran could become more dangerous even if it exhausted its missile stockpile, pointing to what he described as America’s thousands of economic interests around the world.
Bloomberg reported that Naqdi had described a shift in Iran’s military doctrine towards a more offensive posture. In a state television interview, he said Iran should be capable of taking operations into enemy territory when conditions were favourable and the order was given.
What about the Strait of Hormuz?
Naqdi defended Iran’s actions against vessels attempting to transit waters it considers under its control, arguing that during wartime Tehran could restrict passage through areas it regarded as a threat.
His comments came as the US and Iran remained at odds over the reopening of the waterway, with both sides claiming control and demanding concessions.
Bloomberg reported that maritime traffic through Hormuz had continued, but at significantly lower levels than before the conflict. Before the war, about a fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas passed through the strait.
Iran says it does not need nuclear weapons
Naqdi also dismissed the idea that Iran needed nuclear weapons to deter the US.
Asked by PBS about the possibility of Washington using a nuclear weapon, he warned that doing so could trigger severe consequences for the US.
He also rejected the argument that Iran was pursuing a nuclear bomb, saying Tehran’s “nuclear bomb” was the support of people around the world.
“There is no need for nuclear bombs. There is no need for slaughter,” he said.
