Iranian officials and hardline media have adopted a markedly tougher tone towards Washington following the most serious US-Iran military confrontation in weeks, despite US President Donald Trump insisting that negotiations remain on track and a deal could still be reached.
The latest escalation began early Wednesday when US forces struck a telecommunications tower on Qeshm Island.
Tehran responded by announcing attacks on American military facilities in Gulf states such as Kuwait and Bahrain, placing further strain on the fragile 56-day ceasefire that has managed to largely hold despite recurring tensions.
Kuwaiti authorities said an Iranian drone struck Kuwait International Airport, killing one person and injuring dozens. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps denied responsibility for targeting the airport.
Despite the exchange, Trump has maintained a publicly optimistic stance, arguing negotiations are progressing and suggesting an agreement could be reached within days. He characterised the US strike as a punitive measure while portraying Iran’s response as retaliation, signalling an effort to preserve diplomatic momentum despite the violence.
According to reports, Trump has also told advisers privately that he wants to maintain the ceasefire and would only consider a return to large-scale military operations if American personnel were killed. The position reflects Washington’s attempt to deter further attacks while avoiding a collapse of the truce and the broader diplomatic process.
In Tehran, however, the mood has shifted noticeably, with Iran’s state-backed English-language broadcaster Press TV arguing that the country’s period of restraint had ended, describing its recent military actions as part of a doctrine of “qualitative asymmetry”, under which Iranian responses would not necessarily mirror the scale of an attack.
The report suggested that even limited American actions could provoke a significantly broader Iranian response.
Hardline political figures have echoed that message, with former lawmaker Kamran Ghazanfari accusing officials in Tehran of restricting the country’s military options in pursuit of what he described as fruitless negotiations.
“Under no circumstances should we back down before the enemy, and if they hit one of our ships, we must hit three or four of theirs,” he said.
Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi also adopted a sharper tone, saying Tehran had repeatedly warned regional governments against allowing the US to use military facilities on their territory, as Iran has said that all areas in the Gulf which shelter US forces are fresh game.
His comments followed Iran’s announcement of strikes against US-linked targets in Kuwait and Bahrain, which Tehran described as retaliation for the attack on Qeshm Island.
While Washington has denied that Iranian missiles successfully struck American military installations, Iranian media published satellite imagery they claimed showed damage at Ali Al Salem Air Base in Kuwait.
At the same time, Iranian state media and outlets affiliated with the IRGC rejected photographs circulating online that appeared to show damage at Kuwait International Airport, describing the images as fabricated, heightening concerns of worsening the already fragile ceasefire.
Complicating the situation further is Israel’s parallel war in Lebanon against Hezbollah, which Iran has directly linked to its wider negotiations with Washington, with the IRGC maintaining that a comprehensive cessation of all hostilities, including the IDF’s tensions with the Islamist group must be put to bed if any agreement is to be reached, while Jerusalem and Washington have called the Lebanese matter a separate affair unrelated to the Iran war.
The IDF carried out new operations in southern Lebanon on Thursday despite earlier truce arrangements, while Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem flatly rejected the bilateral agreements reached between Beirut and Jerusalem, saying the group would only accept a complete halt to Israeli attacks, a formal ceasefire and a full Israeli withdrawal from Lebanese territory.
Iranian media have also argued that Israeli operations in Lebanon are intended not only to undermine ceasefire efforts but to test Iran’s deterrence capabilities and the resilience of its regional allies as negotiations continue.
