Iran’s Armed Forces vow no retreat until ‘complete defeat’ of US, Israel

The General Staff of Iran’s Armed Forces has vowed not to back down until securing the country’s legitimate rights and delivering a complete defeat to the aggressors — the United States and the Israeli regime — in the region.

It made the remarks in a statement on Sunday, marking the anniversary of the return of Iranian prisoners of war (POWs), who were held captive during the 1980s imposed war waged against the country by former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein.

“Appreciating the iron will, as well as the firm and steadfast determination of the resilient and patient people of Iran, the General Staff of the Armed Forces assures them that it will not back down from the legitimate demands of the nation and the beloved Leader of the Islamic Republic in confronting the aggressive United States, until completely defeating the American-Zionist adversaries in the region, upholding the rights of the heroic Iranian nation, and forcing the enemy to surrender,” it said.

The United States and Israel launched their illegal war of aggression against Iran on February 28 by assassinating the Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, along with senior military commanders.

Forty days later, on April 8, the enemies were forced to accept a ceasefire amid Iran’s resistance, decisive retaliatory operations, and powerful grip on the Strait of Hormuz.

Tehran and Washington signed the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on June 17, but the US effectively violated the deal, prompting Iran to conduct devastating attacks against strategic American targets across West Asia.

For more than 160 days since the beginning of the war, Iranians have held street rallies in support of the country’s Armed Forces.

Also in its statement, the General Staff of the Armed Forces said that war veterans’ sacred legacy of steadfastness and resistance has been passed into the hands of noble and freedom-loving young Iranians, who have stood against the world’s most heavily equipped military—the criminal United States—and brought its bankrupt leaders to their knees.

“This precious and invaluable legacy has always borne witness to the Iranian Islamic nation’s pursuit of justice and opposition to oppression. For over 160 consecutive days and nights, the people have supported the Armed Forces and called for vengeance for the blood of their martyred Imam,” it said.

“They have further emphasized the strength, authority, and steadfastness of the Armed Forces in confronting the bullying and hegemonic ambitions of the global system of domination and imperialism, led by the terrorist US,” it added.

Supported by major Western and regional states, Saddam Hussein launched a massive invasion in 1980 in a bid to seize Iran’s resource-rich Khuzestan province, less than two years after the Islamic Revolution.

With the army mostly in disarray, Iranians closed ranks under the leadership of the late founder of the Islamic Republic, Imam Khomeini, as they rushed to the warfronts to push back Iraqi forces and liberate occupied territories. 

The deadly war ended in 1988 with a ceasefire deal, with the Iraqi dictator failing to achieve any of his goals and Iran not conceding an inch of its territory.     

On August 17, 1990, the Iraqi regime was obliged to start the emancipation process of Iran’s captives and POWs following a swap deal clinched earlier that year.