Iran doesn’t negotiate peace. It prepares for war. President Donald Trump always understood this, and the regime’s latest admissions prove him right.
Iran doesn’t negotiate peace. It prepares for war. President Donald Trump always understood this, and the regime’s latest admissions prove him right.
In a recent interview, Ali Larijani, the newly appointed secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, described Tehran’s devastating losses in its conflict with Israel as not over but “paused.” He explained how Iran is reshaping its defense doctrine, rebuilding its air defenses, strengthening its missile forces, expanding its radar networks, and seeking advanced systems from powers like China.
Most striking was his reaffirmation of the “Axis of Resistance,” a transnational web of militias from Lebanon to Iraq, Syria, Gaza, and Yemen. Far from calling them liabilities, Larijani compared these groups to Washington’s support for Israel, openly acknowledging that Hezbollah, Hamas, and Shia militias are forward-operating arms of Iranian power projection.
For years, Tehran claimed these militias were independent movements. Now one of its highest officials admits the obvious: they are strategic extensions of Iran’s deterrence. This was no slip. It was a declaration of intent, and it revealed the face of a regime that thrives not on peace but on permanent destabilization.
The contrast with Trump’s approach could not be sharper. From the beginning, he rejected the illusion that Tehran could be coaxed into moderation. He recognized the regime’s doctrine: lie, stall, and exhaust your adversary until the time is right to strike. Yet, his stance is not reckless. He made clear that America does not seek endless wars and left the door open for Iran to change course. But he never confused dialogue with trust. Larijani’s words show how correct that instinct is. Iran is not moderating; it is recalibrating its approach.
At first glance, Tehran may seem weaker than it has in decades. Hezbollah has lost commanders and capabilities, Hamas is shattered after nearly two years of war, and Shia militias in Iraq have turned their attention to oil wealth instead of US bases. Even the Houthis have fallen silent after their symbolic rocket fire toward Israel. But appearances can deceive. Larijani made clear that these setbacks are temporary. A new “Supreme Defense Council” has been charged with repairing systemic failures in the Islamic Republic’s defense capabilities. The council will fast-track missile and drone programs and seek partnerships abroad to acquire next-generation aircraft and radar.
To outside observers, this may seem like a lull. To Tehran, it is an opportunity to reload. Silence does not indicate surrender; it is just another strategem. And history shows what follows when adversaries mistake a pause for peace.
The regime’s reliance on proxies underscores this danger. By celebrating militias as “brothers,” not burdens, Larijani revealed that Iran has woven its influence into the region’s conflicts with deliberate precision. Hezbollah entrenched in Lebanon, Hamas in Gaza, Shiite militias in Iraq, the Houthis in Yemen—each is a tool to project power beyond Iran’s borders while insulating the regime itself. This is why peace in the region poses such an existential threat to Tehran.
Nothing demonstrated that more than the Abraham Accords. By fostering normalization between Israel and Arab states, President Trump created the most powerful challenge to Iran’s revolutionary project. The accords offered a Middle East organized around trade, security cooperation, and coexistence—everything Iran fears.
It is no coincidence that Tehran’s proxies have attacked peace initiatives with such ferocity. Hamas’s massacre of October 7 was designed to derail normalization. Hezbollah exploits sectarian tension to paralyze Lebanon. The Houthis fire missiles at Gulf states to undermine regional cooperation. Peace exposes Iran’s irrelevance.
Larijani’s candor also highlights the regime’s reliance on deception. For decades, Iran denied control over these militias, insisting they acted independently. Now its leaders admit what was always true: the Axis of Resistance is part of Iran’s military infrastructure, a distributed arsenal designed to strike Israel, the United States, and Arab rivals by proxy. Trump warned this was the case all along. Today, the regime confirms it.
Lebanon offers a clear example of how Iran operates. For the first time in years, the government has tasked the army with planning to disarm Hezbollah. Severely weakened after Israeli strikes that killed its leader Hassan Nasrallah and degraded its arsenal, the group faces acute pressure.
Yet even now, it resists through the familiar playbook of sectarian threats and political paralysis. Hezbollah frames disarmament as an attack on Lebanon’s Shia community, while Iran praises it for resisting the foreign intervention. The goal is not to win but to prevent Lebanon from standing, to keep the country broken enough to continue serving as Iran’s forward base.
The lesson is unmistakable: only relentless pressure can disrupt this cycle. Dialogue without consequences emboldens Tehran. What is needed now is the resolve to escalate real costs—crippling sanctions that cut off Iran’s oil exports, coordinated action to strangle its illicit financial networks, and, if necessary, decisive strikes against its military assets and the proxies it commands abroad.
Donald Trump saw this truth with absolute clarity, more than any leader before him. He understood that peace in the Middle East is not preserved by wishful thinking but by strength, vigilance, and the willingness to act. America must summon that same clarity now—because Iran will never lay down its arms willingly. It will continue reloading until it is stopped.
About the Author: Ahmed Charai
Ahmed Charai is the Publisher of the Jerusalem Strategic Tribune and serves on the boards of directors of the Atlantic Council, the International Crisis Group, the Center for Strategic and International Studies, the Foreign Policy Research Institute, and the Center for the National Interest.
Image: Photo Agency / Shutterstock.com.
