Iran Will Not Surrender in Hybrid War, Parliament Speaker Says

Iran's parliamentary speaker, Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, said Tehran will not surrender under the combined pressures of military, economic, media and diplomatic warfare, and that the country will "never shut down."

In remarks delivered in Tehran, Qalibaf said Iran's response to its adversaries would remain consistent with the stance it has taken in the past. "They should know that today, in this hybrid war, in this military war, in this economic war, in this media war, and in this diplomatic war, our response will certainly be the same response that we have given our enemies from the past up to today," he said. He added that Iran would not wait, would not surrender and would not allow the country to be shut down.

The speaker said Iran would hold its ground until the threat it faces is ended, and would remove that threat through strength, asserting that the country possesses what he described as sustainable deterrent power.

Qalibaf also addressed the prospect of talks, arguing that negotiation should not be read as a retreat. He described diplomacy as a method of confrontation and as the transfer of part of the battlefield to another arena. Diplomacy, he said, stems from the culture of the Sacred Defense, and means converting power on the ground into political gains rather than capitulation.

His comments came as President Donald Trump returned to the United Nations General Assembly. Trump called on the Islamic Republic to fully reopen the Strait of Hormuz and return to the negotiating table to find a settlement to end the conflict. He accused Iran of stalling on a deal to reopen the strait and negotiate an endgame to the war until after the midterm elections in the United States, insisting that the tactic would not affect how he approaches the conflict.

Most of Iran's delegation walked out of the chamber as Trump spoke against the Islamic Republic.