Senior Iranian officials have reiterated that Tehran will not compromise on its nuclear programme or surrender control of the strategically vital Strait of Hormuz, as tensions with the United States continue over the ongoing war.

Mohsen Rezaei, former commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and member of Iran’s Expediency Council, told Iran’s ISNA news agency that handing over control of the strait to foreign powers would allow adversaries to “weaponise it against Iran and its people.”

Rezaei stressed that “the region must provide its own security; foreign forces — whether American or European — must leave.”

Meanwhile, Brigadier General Reza Talaei-Nik, spokesperson for Iran’s Ministry of Defence, called on Washington and Israel to recognise the rights of the Iranian nation.

Speaking to reporters on Wednesday, he warned that the United States would remain trapped in a “quagmire” unless it acknowledges Iran’s rights and distances itself from the “evil and criminal” Israeli regime.

Talaei-Nik emphasised that Iran’s people constitute the “strategic depth of Iran’s defence power” and insisted that respecting these realities was key to ending the war.

The statements reflect Iran’s firm stance in ongoing diplomatic and military standoffs with the US and its allies, signalling that Tehran will resist external pressure on core issues such as nuclear capability and control of critical waterways.