TEHRAN Oct 14, 2026 – Iran will continue military operations alongside ongoing negotiations in order to pressure the United States into accepting its conditions, Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said this week.
Ghalibaf stated that Tehran is pursuing a dual-track approach of fighting and negotiating until Washington has no choice but to accept what Iran describes as the legitimate rights of its people or face defeat. “To achieve our goals, we will both fight and negotiate,” he said, adding that battlefield gains should be consolidated through diplomacy while military readiness is increased as needed.
The remarks come as indirect talks, mediated primarily by Qatar and Pakistan, remain stalled. Iran has presented seven conditions for reopening the Strait of Hormuz and advancing negotiations. These include an end to hostilities on all fronts, the release of frozen Iranian assets, the lifting of the US naval blockade on Iranian ports, and an end to attacks on Iranian territory. Tehran has described a recent US reply as insufficient on key points and has kept restrictions in place on the waterway, which previously handled roughly one-fifth of global oil and LNG trade.
The current round of conflict began with US and Israeli strikes on Iran in late February 2026. A June memorandum of understanding provided a temporary framework, but fighting later resumed, and the strait has remained restricted while Tehran demands full implementation of its terms before further concessions.
Iranian officials have repeatedly framed the strategy as one in which military pressure and diplomacy operate in tandem. Earlier statements from security officials, including Supreme National Security Council Secretary Mohsen Rezaei, emphasized that Iran would continue resisting until its demands are met and that it remains prepared for further confrontation if negotiations fail to deliver results.
No immediate response from the US side was reported following Ghalibaf’s latest comments.
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