Iran warns of ‘unimaginable’ response to US aggression as tensions rise over Hormuz

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 that Iran would not back down if attacked. Addressing parliament, 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. “Americans think that with a few levers of media pressure or military threats, they can make this great nation surrender to them,” he said, according to a report by 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 added. Qalibaf 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. Read more: Iran warns of ‘unimaginable’ response to US aggression as tensions rise over Hormuz A billboard depicting an Iranian Revolutionary Guard placing his foot on a US sea drone reportedly seized by Iran, in Tehran, 24 September 2026 (AFP)