Iran Declares It Alone Will Decide How Israel Conflict Ends

Iran’s government has asserted this week that only Tehran will determine the outcome of the escalating war with Israel. Over the past seven days, Israeli airstrikes have targeted Iranian nuclear and military infrastructure—such as Natanz, Arak and Fordow—prompting a fierce Iranian response involving missiles and drones directed at Israeli cities, including a strike on Soroka Hospital in Beersheba.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi stated on June 20 in Geneva that Tehran will not return to substantive nuclear negotiations unless Israel halts its bombing campaign. He urged U.S. President Donald Trump to pressure Israel into stopping airstrikes before diplomacy can resume. Araghchi also warned that any U.S. military intervention would escalate the war into “an all‑out conflict.”

Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has firmly rejected surrender, and Iranian officials, including IRGC commanders, have threatened wide-ranging retaliation, explicitly targeting U.S. assets in the region should American forces join Israel. Khamenei emphasized that Iran will decide “the response and end” of the conflict, reaffirming long-held rhetoric that the nation will determine the war’s conclusion.

U.S. President Trump has stated he will decide within “the next two weeks” whether to support Israel with military action. He remains open to diplomacy but is reportedly considering a bunker‑busting strike on Iran’s Fordow nuclear site.

European powers and the United Nations are appealing for an immediate ceasefire. Chinese President Xi Jinping has urged both sides to pull back to avoid broader escalation. Diplomatic efforts, including calls by Gulf intermediaries, appear to be advancing, though so far Tehran has said it will only negotiate from a position of strength.

Iran’s insistence on controlling both the course and conclusion of the conflict signals its strategy: to resist foreign pressure by maintaining military leverage. A halt to Israeli strikes appears to be Iran’s red line for returning to the negotiating table.