Iran’s president has accused the United States of conducting “diplomacy through threats”, as Tehran unveiled an underground missile facility, lifted its self-imposed limit on missile range, and warned Washington and Israel of far deadlier retaliation if they attack again.
Key Points
- Iran US diplomacy through threats — President Masoud Pezeshkian accused the US of using and invoking new military capabilities to pursue diplomacy.
- Iran’s armed forces chief warned the US and Israel will face “far more deadly blows” if they attack again.
- Tehran has lifted its self-imposed 2,000km limit on missile range, and its Revolutionary Guard showed footage of an underground missile base.
- An oil tanker caught fire in the eastern Strait of Hormuz after hitting a naval mine in a “restricted area”, Iran’s army said.
Pezeshkian said that despite the US stating it had “waged war claiming to stop Iran acquiring nuclear weapons”, it had used a Precision Strike Missile in an attack that killed 21 civilians at a sports hall in Lamerd, on the war’s first day. He accused Washington of conducting “diplomacy through threats” by using and invoking new military capabilities. A professor of political science at the University of Tehran, Atefeh Toghiani, said Iran will not make concessions on its nuclear programme until Washington first meets its conditions.
The warnings were echoed by the military. Major General Ali Abdollahi, chief of staff of Iran’s armed forces, warned that the US and Israel will face “far more deadly blows” if they attack the country again, and that retaliation for renewed strikes could extend beyond the Middle East. Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has unveiled footage of an underground missile facility containing ballistic and cruise missiles, while announcing that its self-imposed 2,000km missile range limit has been lifted.
A war neither over nor settled
The rhetoric comes days after President Donald Trump said the US-Israel war with Iran was “effectively over”, following a meeting with Qatar’s prime minister at the White House on Monday. Tehran called that claim “fake news”. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Sunday that the US and Iran were not on the verge of a breakthrough, calling Tehran’s demands “outrageous and ridiculous”. Iran’s security chief says no talks with the US are ongoing, and a bid to end the war remains deadlocked.
Tehran has also written to the United Nations and the International Atomic Energy Agency seeking condemnation of a US offer of up to $20 million for information on its nuclear programme, saying the move encourages the assassination of its scientists.
The tensions are already spilling beyond the region. The United States moved military aircraft from RAF Mildenhall in eastern England on Monday amid reported threats from Iran — the second withdrawal from a British base in recent weeks. US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has reportedly moved from his Washington-area home to a military base following threats against his life attributed to Iran.
Flashpoints on the water and in Gaza
An oil tanker has caught fire in the eastern part of the Strait of Hormuz after hitting a naval mine in a “restricted area”, Iran’s army said in a statement. The strait carries a large share of the world’s seaborne oil, and any disruption there feeds directly into energy prices.
In Gaza, Israeli strikes and gunfire killed five people on Tuesday, hospital authorities said, despite a ceasefire agreement that took effect in October 2025. Four people were killed in three separate Israeli strikes in Gaza City, according to Shifa Hospital, and one person was shot dead in Khan Younis after crossing the Yellow Line, according to Nasser Hospital. At least eight Palestinians, including a father and his 13-year-old son, were killed in Israeli attacks throughout Tuesday, and Israeli warplanes carried out an air attack on Kfar Tebnit in southern Lebanon. Overnight strikes in Yemen killed one person and wounded nine.
For background on the strikes that opened this phase of the conflict, see our reports on Trump confirming the Qeshm Island strike and on the US striking Iran’s Qeshm Island. More in our World News section.
Sources: Al Jazeera, “Iran war live: Pezeshkian says US using ‘mother of all bombs’ for diplomacy” (https://www.aljazeera.com/amp/news/liveblog/2026/11/11/iran-war-live-hegseth-survives-impeachment-bid-iran-denies-us-talks); 10 Things Global News, “10 Things Global News — 11th November 2026” (https://www.10things.news/p/10-things-global-news-11th-november-96f).