Iran’s top security official says military operations against American targets will not stop until Washington surrenders and the deaths of children in Minab and Lamerd are avenged.
Tehran, Iran – Web Desk: Iran’s Supreme National Security Council has declared that military operations against United States targets will continue until Washington surrenders completely, as hostilities between the two countries entered a new and dangerous phase this week.
Mohammad Bagher Zolghadr, secretary of the council, said in a statement carried by Iranian state media that strikes on American positions would persist until “the enemy’s total surrender” and until Iran avenges the deaths of children in the towns of Minab and Lamerd, both hit by strikes on the war’s opening day. He said any column of smoke rising over the region signalled that a US military, security or financial centre had been struck.
Zolghadr described the continuing strikes by Iranian forces as an expression of national anger against what he called the global system of domination, adding that the campaign would not stop until, in his words, justice was delivered for the children killed in the two towns. This has not been independently verified beyond Iranian state media reporting.
The renewed confrontation follows nearly five months of war that began on February 28, 2026, when the United States and Israel launched strikes on Iranian military and government sites. According to Iranian authorities, a strike on the Shajareh Tayyebeh girls’ school in Minab and a separate strike on a sports hall in Lamerd killed dozens of civilians, including children, on that first day, drawing condemnation from United Nations human rights officials at the time.
A ceasefire brokered by Pakistan came into effect on April 8, followed by talks in Islamabad. On June 17, Iran and the United States signed the Islamabad Memorandum, a 14-point understanding guaranteed by Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, aimed at extending the truce and opening a 60-day negotiating window covering the Strait of Hormuz, Iran’s nuclear programme and sanctions relief. Technical talks followed in Switzerland and Qatar.
However, before a third round of talks scheduled in Islamabad could take place, Washington and Tehran each accused the other of violating the memorandum, and strikes resumed. According to Iranian media reports, US forces have carried out nightly strikes on Iranian territory for roughly two weeks, damaging civilian infrastructure including communication networks, bridges and water treatment facilities. Iranian outlets have put the toll from this latest round at 55 people killed and 645 injured, though these figures have not been independently verified by international news agencies.
In response, Iran has again shut the Strait of Hormuz, a critical global oil transit route, and has carried out drone and missile strikes on US military installations across the region, according to Iranian state media.
Pakistan, which continues to serve as guarantor of the Islamabad Memorandum, has previously urged both sides to show restraint, saying renewed conflict serves no one’s interest. It remains unclear whether Islamabad or other mediators will attempt to revive talks following this latest escalation.
With both Washington and Tehran trading blame over the collapse of the truce, the coming days are likely to determine whether the region slides back into full-scale war or whether renewed diplomatic efforts can restore the fragile ceasefire.
