Mohsen Rezaei, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, praised a recent reshuffle in the country’s military leadership, saying decisions by Supreme Leader Seyyed Mojtaba Khamenei would strengthen Iran’s defense capabilities. The report was published on August 17, 2026, following appointments of senior commanders in the armed forces and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

In a message to Khamenei, Rezaei described the appointment of six senior commanders to key army and IRGC posts as farsighted and timely. He said the appointments had significantly changed the calculations of Iran’s enemies and claimed they had disrupted plans by leaders of the United States and Israel.

Major General Ali Abdollahi was named chief of the General Staff of Iran’s armed forces, while Major General Ahmad Vahidi became IRGC commander-in-chief. Rear Admiral Ali Ozamaei was appointed commander of the IRGC navy, and Hossein Taib was named head of the IRGC’s Basij force. Analysts said the changes aimed to reinforce wartime security arrangements with leaders experienced in war and security management.

Iran’s military has announced a reward of $30,000, or the equivalent of 500 crore tomans, for anyone who kills or captures US military personnel and hands them over to Iranian forces. Iranian army chief Amir Hatami said Iranian women who carry out such an act would receive double the reward. The announcement was reported on August 16, 2026.

According to Iran’s state news agency IRNA, Hatami said the plan was developed after receiving “numerous requests” to participate in this financial assistance. He described US military personnel as “intruding” and said the Islamic Republic of Iran Army would provide the payment to anyone who kills or captures them and transfers them to Iranian authorities.

Hatami did not provide details on where or when killings or captures of US troops were expected to occur. The report said there has been no known direct deployment of US ground forces in Iran during the ongoing Middle East war. It noted, however, that an operation was known to have been conducted in April to rescue a downed US pilot.

Iranian Army Chief Major General Amir Hatami issued a sharp warning to US President Donald Trump in response to Trump’s reported threat to turn the Strait of Hormuz into US territory. The remarks were reported on August 16, 2026, with Al Jazeera cited by the source.

According to Iran’s state broadcaster IRIB, Hatami criticized Trump’s comments about the strait. He said joking about such remarks was a major mistake because it was Iran and it had guards who would break Trump’s legs. His comments directly addressed the reported threat concerning the strategic waterway.

Hatami also said US forces had been “effectively expelled” and no longer had permission to enter the Persian Gulf, the Sea of Oman, or the Strait of Hormuz. He said US bases would not be allowed to return to their previous position and that Iran would never permit this. The report said Trump had threatened to make the strait US territory.

Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said Iran had been subjected to an unjust war led by the United States and Israel, but its people resisted with courage, determination and dedication. In remarks reported on August 16, 2026, he said Iran had achieved a real victory in both military and political arenas.

Ghalibaf described himself as a brother familiar with the details of the war and said he was fully confident in that assessment. His comments characterized the conflict’s military outcome and Iran’s political position as victories for the country, while crediting the Iranian public’s resistance during the war.

He also said a memorandum of understanding signed between Iran and the United States was a document of pride and victory that would help consolidate gains achieved in the diplomatic arena. However, Ghalibaf acknowledged that the public may not have fully felt the victory as it was achieved. He said authorities had, in some cases, failed to properly present the people’s rightful entitlements and achievements.

An Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps official said Tehran built a new air-defense framework during a recent war, according to a report published on August 16, 2026. The official said the changes covered command-and-control networks, training and combat tactics, and were described in a documentary released by Fars News Agency.

The official said Iran drew lessons from previous conflicts to revise its air-defense system. He claimed the country had moved away from a conventional or “classical” air-defense model toward a more integrated structure. The reported overhaul also involved changes to tactics, equipment and technical operating procedures.

According to the official, Iran also reformed how information is collected, exchanged and used across its air-defense network. He claimed the changes enabled Iran to keep a larger number of missiles and air-defense systems operational during the conflict. The report attributes the information to the Iranian official and does not provide further details on the systems or the conflict mentioned.

An official from Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said more than 85% of the country’s air-defence production capacity remained intact during the war. The claim was made in an interview featured in a documentary released by Fars News Agency. The report was published and updated on August 16, 2026.

The official said Iran’s military production infrastructure had been attacked, but the rate of production and delivery of missiles and air-defence systems had not fallen below pre-conflict levels. He said a large share of the IRGC’s air-defence equipment is produced by the force’s own self-sufficiency organization.

According to the official, production increased in some areas after the war. He also said Iran’s current stock of operational air-defence systems was in a stronger position than at the start of the war. The report did not provide independent verification of the claims or further details on the damage from the attacks.

Iran’s Armed Forces General Staff said the country’s military will not retreat until it has “completely defeated” United States and Israeli forces. The pledge was made in a statement marking the anniversary of Iranian prisoners of war returning from Iraq in 1990. The statement was published through Fars News Agency.

The General Staff said the tradition of resistance had been passed to a new generation in Iran, which it said had stood against forces described as the world’s most heavily armed militaries. The statement also praised public support for Iran’s armed forces.

It said Iran would continue seeking what it called the country’s rightful interests until “the enemy surrenders.” The statement further accused the United States of pursuing aggression and expanding dominance in the region.

Iran has executed Shahram Sadeghi, who was convicted of driving a car into several police officers during anti-government protests in January. The judiciary’s online portal, Mizan, said the sentence was carried out on the morning of August 16.

Mizan said Sadeghi had received the death sentence for participating in what it described as an operation supported by the “Zionist regime” and the United States. According to the judiciary, he drove his vehicle into several police officers in Karaj, west of Tehran, on January 8.

Seven police officers were injured in the incident, Mizan reported. Iran saw widespread anti-government protests in December and January, driven by an economic crisis. The source did not provide further details about the judicial proceedings or any subsequent actions following the execution.

Iranian parliamentarian Ebrahim Azizi said US President Donald Trump should worry about his own security rather than make what he called endless threats over the Strait of Hormuz. Azizi, who heads Iran’s parliamentary National Security and Foreign Policy Commission, made the remarks in a social media post on August 16, 2026, following Trump’s recent comments about the waterway.

Azizi wrote that Trump should stop the persistent threats and rhetoric concerning the Strait of Hormuz, warning that otherwise he might ultimately have to hide in a food truck. The article said the reference to a food truck pointed to a report in US media concerning Trump’s travel arrangements last month.

According to that report, Trump used a catering truck to transfer from Air Force One to a smaller aircraft while travelling to Ankara for a NATO summit, amid fears of an Iranian attack. Trump had said he would soon declare the Strait of Hormuz to be US territory. The strategically important strait is currently under Iranian control, and Iran has said it would reopen it once US military intervention stops.

Iranian judiciary chief Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei said any force seeking to challenge Tehran’s control over the Strait of Hormuz would be defeated. The remarks, published on August 16, 2026, rejected a threat by US President Donald Trump to declare the strategic waterway US territory.

Judiciary-affiliated outlet Mizan published Mohseni Ejei’s comments. He said Iran was the “owner and ruler” of the waterway and that any aggressive or military force seeking to challenge its position there would be defeated. He described Iran’s claim over the strait as being founded on international law and national sovereignty.

Mohseni Ejei also said US warships had already failed to establish control over the waterway. He argued that Washington could not achieve through statements or social media what it had failed to accomplish militarily. The report did not provide further details about Trump’s threat or any additional official response from the United States.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Iran’s ongoing discussions with Oman over designating shipping routes in the Strait of Hormuz are separate from any decision to reopen the waterway. Speaking to Shahraara News on Saturday, he described the talks as a technical process focused on establishing a sea route for vessel traffic.

Araghchi said the routes previously used are no longer operational, making it necessary to identify a new route. Work is currently under way to establish a temporary route, which could later be converted into a final one. He said the discussions with Oman are continuing and that a solution may be reached soon.

He stressed that agreeing on a shipping route would not automatically mean the Strait of Hormuz would be reopened. Whether it is reopened would depend on other conditions being met, he said. According to Araghchi, those conditions would have to be fulfilled by the United States, and the conclusion of the technical route discussions should not be treated as a guarantee of reopening.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian blamed US sanctions for rising prices in Iran, saying the measures have disrupted goods imports through the country’s ports. In remarks published Friday, he said shipments that previously arrived by sea must now take longer routes to reach Iran, increasing the cost of finished goods and the cost of living.

Pezeshkian said the increase in prices was therefore natural, according to his remarks. He also said Iran’s income had declined because it could no longer sell oil as it had previously. The president linked the country’s financial pressures both to disrupted trade and to reduced oil-sale revenue.

He further said several industrial factories had been destroyed in bomb attacks, reducing the government’s ability to collect taxes from them at previous levels. Emphasizing the need to keep the country functioning despite these pressures, Pezeshkian said Iran’s economic wheel must continue turning.

Iran has not made a decision to resume talks with the United States, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said in a statement on the latest status of the Islamabad ceasefire memorandum. He said the memorandum declared an “end to the war,” rather than a ceasefire that required extension. The statement was published on August 15.

Araghchi said the memorandum provided 60 days for talks toward a final agreement. He accused the United States of violating that opportunity and restarting the conflict. Qatar and Pakistan are only exchanging messages and maintaining contact as mediators, he said, stressing that such communication does not amount to negotiations with Washington.

The foreign minister said Iran’s discussions with Oman are separate and concern detailed strategic matters, including maritime boundaries and shipping routes in the Strait of Hormuz. Previous routes are no longer effective, and Iran is designing a temporary route that would later become a final route. Araghchi added that strategic talks with Oman and reopening the strait are different matters; even after a route is set, reopening would depend on other conditions that the United States must meet.

Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps commander Major General Ahmad Vahidi said Iran had forced the US military to bow down. He made the statement in an open letter addressed to security forces, according to a report published on August 15, 2026. The letter was published by Sepah News.

In the letter, Vahidi wrote that Iran had made “the most heavily armed army in world history” bow down. The report did not cite a specific military event, timeframe, or evidence to support the claim.

The statement came after Iran’s Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei made major changes to the defence cabinet last week. General Ahmad Vahidi was among several military leaders newly appointed in the reshuffle. His remarks in the open letter were published following those changes to the defence leadership.

Iran and Oman are continuing technical talks on managing maritime traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said. He said an agreement could be reached soon on the matter, according to remarks published on August 15, 2026.

Speaking to Iran’s Students News Agency, ISNA, Araghchi said the central aim of the discussions is to establish designated shipping routes for vessels passing through the strait. He described the engagement as a strategic discussion focused on determining navigation routes for ships in the Strait of Hormuz.

Araghchi stressed that the talks with Oman are not part of ongoing ceasefire negotiations with the United States, saying the two matters are entirely separate. He said experts from both countries are working on the issue and that military officials are also involved in the discussions. Their views are important, he added.