Iran could keep the war going until President Trump’s term ends: What it could mean
Tehran: Iran could deliberately prolong its war with the United States until Donald Trump leaves office, a senior adviser to the commander of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has said, pointing to a strategy of attrition and deterrence.
Mohammad Reza Naqdi, a senior adviser to the IRGC commander-in-chief, told PBS NewsHour that prolonging the conflict until the next US presidency could be one way for Iran to impose costs and deter future attacks.
Naqdi said Iran's aim was not simply to win the current conflict but to make any future US decision to attack Iran more costly.
His remarks are notable because they directly link the possible duration of the war to the end of Trump's current presidential term.
IRGC adviser says Iran believes it is winning
Naqdi said Iran believes it is currently winning the conflict but has not yet reached its final objective.
He claimed the war had given Iran experience in confronting the US military and said Tehran now viewed American military strength differently.
Naqdi also said Iran was producing more missiles each day than it was using, claiming that missile production could continue from multiple locations even if the conflict lasted for years.
Warning if Iran runs out of missiles
The IRGC adviser also made a broader warning about what Iran could do if its missile stockpile were exhausted.
He said Iran could become "even more dangerous" because of the large number of US economic interests around the world. He did not specify which economic targets he was referring to or explain how Iran could attack them.
US-Iran talks remain stalled
Naqdi's comments come as diplomatic efforts between Washington and Tehran remain strained.
A senior Iranian official said on August 12 that there had been no discussions on extending the ceasefire and that Washington would need to return to the terms of an earlier interim agreement. Separate reporting also indicated that talks to revive the agreement had made no progress.
The remarks point to a possible Iranian strategy of long-term attrition rather than a quick end to the conflict. By tying the potential duration of the war to Trump's departure from office, Naqdi suggested that Tehran could see time itself as a strategic tool.
However, the comments represent the position of a senior IRGC adviser and should not automatically be treated as a formal announcement of Iran's war policy. His claims about Iran's military position and missile production are also assertions that were not independently verified in the reports cited above.
If the conflict were to continue for years, the consequences could extend well beyond the battlefield, particularly for regional security, shipping and energy markets.