The Commander of the Quds Force at the Diplomacy and Resistance Conference

The rhetoric emanating from Tehran in December 2025 further highlights the gravity of the situation, as President Masoud Pezeshkian recently declared that Iran is now in a "full-fledged war" with Israel and its Western allies. This terminology is significant because it shifts the Iranian domestic narrative from one of "strategic patience" to one of active mobilization. By comparing the current tensions to the brutal Iran-Iraq War of the 1980s, the Iranian leadership is preparing its public for a prolonged struggle that spans economic, security, and military dimensions. This hardening of positions suggests that diplomacy has been sidelined in favor of a survivalist posture, where Tehran believes that only a display of overwhelming force can protect the regime from further external intervention.