Above photo: Smoke billows following an Iranian missile attack in Central “Israel”, Monday, March 9, 2026. AP.
Iranian officials say Tehran is not seeking a ceasefire.
Warning that US-Israeli aggression will face a decisive response as tensions escalate.
Iran is not seeking a ceasefire amid the ongoing war, instead, it intends to impose a decisive response on its adversaries, Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said on Tuesday.
In a post on X, Ghalibaf wrote: “We are certainly not seeking a ceasefire,” adding, “We believe that the aggressors must be taught a harsh lesson so they never dare attack Iran again.”
به طور قطع ما دنبال آتشبس نیستیم؛ معتقدیم باید توی دهان متجاوز زد تا درسی بگیرد که دیگر هیچ گاه به فکر تجاوز به ایران عزیز نیافتد.
رژیم صهیونیستی حیات ننگین خود را در استمرار چرخهٔ «جنگ-مذاکره-آتشبس و سپس دوباره جنگ» میبیند تا سلطهٔ خود را تثبیت کند. این چرخه را خواهیم شکست.
— محمدباقر قالیباف | MB Ghalibaf (@mb_ghalibaf) March 10, 2026
Translation: “Absolutely, we are not seeking a ceasefire; we believe we must strike the aggressor in the mouth so that it learns a lesson and never again even thinks of aggressing against our dear Iran. The Zionist regime sees its ignoble existence in perpetuating the cycle of “war-negotiation-ceasefire and then war again” in order to consolidate its domination. We will break this cycle.”
Ghalibaf also accused “Israel” of relying on recurring cycles of conflict to maintain its dominance, stating, “The Israeli entity believes that its survival lies in continuing the cycle of ‘war–negotiation–ceasefire and then war again’ in order to consolidate its hegemony, but Iran will break this cycle.”
Iran did not initiate war, will be the one to end it: Mohajerani
Iran did not initiate the war but is the one to end it, Iranian government spokesperson Fatemeh Mohajerani asserted, emphasizing that any discussion of mediation to end the war must be based on the principle of preventing repeated aggression, not merely on a ceasefire.
Speaking at her weekly press conference, Mohajerani stated, “The election of Sayyed Mojtaba Khamenei as the third Leader of the Revolution and the Islamic Republic strengthened harmony and national unity in Iran and thwarted the enemies’ schemes.”
She also noted that “the Strait of Hormuz is a strategic resource for Iran, and it is natural to invest all resources in the war.”
Regarding recent attacks, Mohajerani highlighted that the US-Israeli aggression on Iran’s oil facilities caused an environmental issue in Tehran, explaining that “Iran was able to restore the fuel shortage caused by the aggression on oil depots within 24 hours.”
She added, “The US-Israeli aggression against Iran aims to divide it and plunder its wealth,” stressing that the aggression does not target any particular group in Iran but “targets the life of all its citizens and their future.”
Commenting on Iran’s resilience, she said, “The enemy does not understand Iran’s steadfastness and its six-thousand-year-long heritage because it has no history and does not understand it.”
Talks with US may be off table post-war: Araghchi
Echoing these comments, Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi stated that talks between Tehran and Washington are unlikely following the US-Israeli war on the country, as the attacks eroded any trust between the two parties.
In an interview with PBS NewsHour on March 10, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said renewed dialogue with the United States may no longer be under consideration following the war on Iran.
“I don’t think talking with Americans would be on our agenda anymore,” Araghchi said.
The minister pointed to previous negotiations over Iran’s nuclear program that took place shortly before the United States launched strikes on three Iranian nuclear sites in June. Tehran says those attacks came despite assurances from U.S. officials that no such operation was planned.
During the last round of negotiations on Iran’s nuclear program in February, Americans promised they didn’t “have any intention to attack,” Araghchi said, and did so anyway.
Iranian officials argue that the strikes demonstrated that diplomacy was used as cover for military escalation, reinforcing Tehran’s belief that further talks would not produce meaningful guarantees.
Trump seeking to end war, Tehran refuses
A senior Iranian political official said Iran has refused to respond to messages from Donald Trump, despite the US president’s reported attempts to communicate with Tehran through intermediaries in an effort to end the war.
Speaking to Al Mayadeen on March 9, the official said Trump’s private messages contradict his public rhetoric.
“Trump contradicts what he is sending us,” the official said, pointing to the US president’s statements to American media claiming that there is no specific timetable for ending the war.
The Iranian official confirmed that Tehran has informed mediators it will not receive or respond to messages from the United States.
He said the conflicting signals from Washington reflect a state of “chaos and deep crisis” within the Trump administration, adding that the US president has found himself “in a terrible predicament without a clear way out of this quagmire.”
The official emphasized that Iran’s position remains firm and strategic, stating that Tehran will not respond to any initiative while the confrontation with the United States and “Israel” continues. He added that Iran’s stance is tied to the broader regional conflict and what Tehran describes as the consequences of Israeli actions in the region.
“Iran maintains a firm and resolute position with a strategic objective: not to respond to any initiative until the Zionist entity retreats and fully collapses after all the crimes it has committed in the region,” the official told Al Mayadeen.
𝗜𝗥𝗔𝗡’𝗦 𝗧𝗘𝗥𝗠𝗦 𝗙𝗢𝗥 𝗘𝗡𝗗𝗜𝗡𝗚 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗪𝗔𝗥
Reports indicate that Washington has quietly approached several intermediaries, including Russia, Oman, and Turkey, seeking a path toward a ceasefire and a way to halt the rapidly escalating conflict.
Through these… pic.twitter.com/bHfldiJgyN— Ibrahim Majed (@IbrahimMajed) March 10, 2026
