Iran has issued a warning to the United States that any new act of militarism would lead to an "unimaginable" response, with parliament speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf saying Tehran will not surrender to military threats. Addressing parliament on Sunday, Qalibaf said the Iranian government would not be intimidated by US military threats or pressure and would defend what it considers the country's territorial integrity.

What Qalibaf said

"Americans think that with a few levers of media pressure or military threats, they can make this great nation surrender to them," Qalibaf said, according to Iran's Tasnim news agency. "Unaware that today's Iran is not the Iran of the Pahlavi era of humiliation, but rather an impregnable fortress of self-confidence, defensive strength and iron will." He said Iran was prepared to respond forcefully to any violation of its territory and insisted that threats of a wider war would not compel the country to abandon its interests.

Hormuz in the background

Foreign minister Abbas Araghchi has separately warned that the management of the Strait of Hormuz will never be the same after the conflict with the United States and Israel, saying shipping routes through the strait "will no longer be the same as before". The warnings come as President Donald Trump has suggested he could relaunch strikes against Iran after the midterm elections, while Iranian officials have denied making peace proposals or offering deals through mediators to lift the US naval blockade.