Iran Vows Prolonged All-Out War If Attacked As Trump Still Seeks ‘Options’

by Tyler Durden

Wednesday, Jan 21, 2026 – 09:10 PM

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi penned an op-ed in The Wall Street Journal on Tuesday warning the United States that Tehran will be “firing back with everything we have if we come under renewed attack” – following President Trump reiterating threats against the Islamic Republic.

“Our powerful armed forces have no qualms about firing back with everything we have if we come under renewed attack,” he wrote in reference to the 12-day war of last June.

The top Iranian diplomat stated that this was not a “threat” but a “reality I feel I need to convey explicitly, because as a diplomat and a veteran, I abhor war.”

Araghchi said his country is ready for all-out war, describing that “an all-out confrontation will certainly be ferocious and drag on far, far longer than the fantasy timelines that Israel and its proxies are trying to peddle to the White House. It will certainly engulf the wider region and have an impact on ordinary people around the globe.”

What’s more is he described the most violent part of protests in Iran, which were met with vehement denunciations and warnings by Trump, in reality the result of an anti-Tehran conspiracy and effort by externally supported groups to sow chaos, destabilization, and to begin an insurgency:

As black-clad groups of masked terrorists used rifles and handguns to infiltrate protests and mow down innocent demonstrators on our streets, reports emerged in various media claiming that big cities in Iran had “fallen.” Other reports alleged the continuation of widespread armed violence. In reality, the violent phase of the unrest lasted less than 72 hours.

By many accounts, the ballistic and even hypersonic missiles which fell on Israel last June did significant damage, and put fear into Israeli leadership given just how many among the hundreds of projectiles sent, including drones, were able to evade Israel’s anti-air defenses.

Iran’s foreign ministry is issuing such forceful warnings given the crisis between Tehran and Washington doesn’t appear fully over, at a moment a US carrier group and additional military assets are headed to the Middle East region. WSJ notes that ‘options’ are still being weighed by the administration:

After pulling back from strikes on Iran last week, President Trump is still pressing aides for what he terms “decisive” military options, U.S. officials said, as Iran appears to have tightened its control of the country and targets protesters through a crackdown that has killed thousands.

Meanwhile the WSJ, along with others among the mainstream media, is questioning where Trump the hawk is and why he’s exercised restrained on the Iran question – in the typical fashion of the warmongering media. WSJ’s editorial board wrote:

Araghchi’s not-so-implicit threat of war if President Trump orders help for the protesters… This is a threat against Americans, an attempt to intimidate the Trump Administration. We wonder how President Trump sees this threat, especially since the regime so clearly crossed his “red line” against shooting protesters.

Regardless, the American public won’t stomach yet another drawn out forever war in the Middle East. Poll after poll shows Bush’s overthrow of Saddam Hussein is among the most deeply unpopular US military actions in history.

The dust has barely settled on 20+ year fruitless and deadly occupations in Iraq and Afghanistan, where the severe limitations of US empire were confirmed (also as the Taliban remains in Kabul, and Shia pro-Iran governance is stronger than ever in Baghdad), and yet already the armchair interventionist chickenhawks in the media are eyeing another regime change war.

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Probably (or rather, hopefully) Trump senses this, and is seeking de-escalation, also perhaps knowing there will be other future Iran protests and ‘opportunities’ to pull the trigger against Tehran. But it won’t be some kind of easy in, easy out Venezuela scenario – and American troops might die.