iran war: iran says it could 'prolong' war until trump is out of office
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a top adviser to the commander of iran’s islamic revolutionary guard corps said tehran could “prolong” the war with the united states until president donald trump is out of office.
in an interview with pbs newshour, mohammad reza naqdi said, “we have to attain deterrence so that the enemy never dares to attack us, so we can live with security.”
“one way is to prolong this war until we get to the next term of the presidency and cause attrition, so that if anyone else wants to attack iran, they will know there is a cost,” said naqdi.
naqdi is currently a senior adviser to the irgc commander. from 2019 to 2025, he served as coordinating deputy of the irgc, per cnn.
he told pbs that iran is currently in control of the war and that “victory is on our side.” he noted the u.s. is conducting a war without strategy, noting they “announced a new objective” every two or three days, including the kharg island invasion and the reopening of the strait of hormuz.
here’s the latest on the iran war on wednesday:
iran denies trump’s hormuz claims
iran on wednesday afternoon rejected u.s. president donald trump’s claim earlier in the day that strait of hormuz is under u.s. control.
without referring to the u.s. president by name, iran’s persian gulf strait authority (pgsa) wrote in a statement posted on x: “claims and repeated posts by u.s. officials that the strait of hormuz is no longer blocked do not change the reality: the strait of hormuz remains blocked and will not be reopened until iran’s conditions are accepted.”
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the pgsa is an agency recently formed by tehran to manage maritime traffic through the waterway.
trump says u.s. ‘owns’ and controls strait of hormuz
u.s. president donald trump told reporters late tuesday once again that the united states is in control of the strait of hormuz.
“we have total control over the hormuz strait right now,” said trump. “they (iran) don’t have control. we have control. we own it.”
the president said that if tehran challenges washington, “they get blown away.”
trump has previously stated that the strait of hormuz is “open,” while claiming that the u.s. navy has swept the waterway for mines and is in control of it, despite shipping data not backing that claim up, cnn reported.
his claims of owning the strait of hormuz come after iran said it would not reopen the waterway until the u.s. met several conditions, which include war reparations and ending sanctions, per al jazeera.
more than 25 countries condemn iran executions
more than 25 countries, including france, the u.k. and canada, condemned the use of capital punishment by iranian authorities, stating in a joint statement the islamic republic was executing protesters to “silence dissent.”
the countries, joined by the european union’s top diplomat, “condemn in the strongest terms the ongoing executions of protesters and use of the death penalty” by iran.
“the use of capital punishment to silence dissent, intimidate communities, and punish individuals exercising their human rights can never be justified,” the statement said, per afp.
“the people of iran must be free to exercise their rights to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly without fear.”
australia, new zealand, ireland, germany and other european nations also supported the statement, calling for iran “to immediately end the use of the death penalty and release all those arbitrarily detained.”
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according to the un, since march 19, at least 56 people have been executed on national security-related charges, including 27 people in cases linked to the protests.
pakistan says three nationals killed in houthi red sea attack
the foreign minister for pakistan said three of its nationals were killed and one was wounded in an attack by houthi militia on a vessel in the red sea.
it’s the first fatalities in the red sea since the iran-backed houthis declared a blockade of the bab al-mandeb strait on july 20, and as the middle east conflict threatens to widen, cnn reported.
“pakistan strongly condemns the houthi attack on a non-combatant commercial vessel,” ishaq dar wrote in a post on x.
“such attacks endanger innocent lives, constitute a violation of international law, and pose a serious threat to freedom of navigation, maritime security, and the safety of commercial shipping in the red sea.”
yemen previously accused the houthis of killing four crew members and two rescue workers in a double strike on a saudi-owned vessel travelling through the strait. the houthis claimed responsibility for the strike, stating the ship was carrying military equipment.
pakistan working to bring iran, u.s. back to ‘negotiating table’
pakistani foreign ministry spokesperson tahir andrabi said during a press conference on tuesday that the country was working to bring iran and the u.s. “to the negotiating table” and prevent efforts to undermine the peace process, per al jazeera.
andrabi’s comments come as efforts to implement the memorandum of understanding between iran and the u.s. continue to restore the ceasefire between the two countries while also resolving issues over the strait of hormuz.
the spokesperson said pakistan’s deputy prime minister and deputy foreign minister held talks with iran, saudi arabia and kuwait on aug. 10.
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pakistan interior minister in iran to discuss regional security
mohsin naqvi, pakistan’s interior minister, is visiting iran to talk about regional security, stability and other developments, according to the pakistani foreign ministry.
iranian state news agency irna reported that naqvi met with iranian president masoud pezeshkian, foreign minister abbas araghchi and interior minister eskandar momeni.
“he is discussing bilateral relations, security, regional security and stability, and constructive engagement amongst the parties in the region and regional developments,” pakistani foreign ministry spokesman tahir andrabi said, per afp.
the iranian government’s website noted naqvi conveyed to pezeshkian “a message from the pakistani prime minister and the chief of the army,” without further specification.
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