Iranian MP vows strikes on Israel amid contradictory signals from Tehran

Iran plans to continue its direct strikes against Israel, the spokesperson for Parliament's National Security Commission said on Saturday amid conflicting statements from Tehran officials about their strategic direction.

"Iran will undoubtedly proceed with Operation 'True Promise 3,' although the precise timing remains uncertain," lawmaker Ebrahim Rezaei said.

The operation, part of Tehran’s “True Promise” campaign, follows earlier missile and drone strikes in April and October. However, on Friday, the deputy coordinator of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards suggested a shift toward proxy warfare, reflecting the challenges Tehran faces after significant losses suffered by its allies.

Iran’s proxies, Hezbollah and Hamas, have experienced substantial setbacks over the past year. Hezbollah’s leader, Hassan Nasrallah, along with several senior commanders, was killed in a September Israeli strike in Beirut. Israeli sources estimate that around 3,000 Hezbollah operatives have been killed since October 2023, while Reuters places the number closer to 4,000. Hamas has also faced severe losses in Gaza, with Israel pitting the number at over 17,000 fighters killed in the past year.

Rezaei's call for more direct attacks against Israel comes as Syrian rebels launch an unexpected offensive this week against forces loyal to Iran's ally, Bashar al-Assad, swiftly capturing Aleppo, Syria's second-largest city.

Other Iranian officials have accused Israel of being behind the rebel offensive. Tehran has spent upwards of $50 billion during the Syrian civil war since 2011 and has suffered an unknown number of casualties, both in the ranks of its IRGC officers and recruited Afghan and other militiamen.

On Wednesday, a 60-day ceasefire brokered by the United States and France began, temporarily halting the 14-month conflict between Israel and Hezbollah. During this time, Hezbollah launched more than 17,000 projectiles at Israel in support of Hamas’s October 2023 invasion.

Rezaei also addressed the possibility of negotiations with the United States, firmly rejecting the idea under current circumstances. "Regarding negotiations with the United States, it must be emphasized that all those who have approached the field of foreign policy with rationality and pragmatism, free from emotional bias, concur that engaging in talks with the United States under the current circumstances is not in the nation's best interest," he said.

Separately, Iran has reportedly signaled to European diplomats that it will not take unilateral steps to modify its nuclear program ahead of President-elect Donald Trump’s return, according to a Saturday tweet by journalist Laurence Norman. Meanwhile, The Wall Street Journal reported that the incoming Trump administration plans to revive the “maximum pressure” campaign, aiming to curtail Iran's economic capacity to fund armed groups and adversarial activities.