TEHRAN – Senior Iranian military officials have emphasized that the recent confrontation involving Iran, the United States, and Israel ended in a strategic impasse for Washington and Tel Aviv, warning that resistance movements across the region retain significant retaliatory capabilities despite ongoing efforts to reshape the security landscape in West Asia.

Commander of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) Quds Force, Brigadier General Esmaeil Qaani, on Friday cautioned Israeli leaders against underestimating the military capabilities of resistance groups, particularly in Gaza.

In a message posted on X, Qaani referred to the battlefield performance of Lebanon’s Hezbollah resistance movement, saying that previous Israeli failures stemmed from ignoring warnings about the group’s operational capabilities.

“When we said Hezbollah has Mirsad drones, you did not pay attention and got caught. Who will answer for the 100 casualties?” he stated.

The Quds Force commander further warned that Gaza possesses its own strategic capabilities and could launch large-scale retaliatory operations if Israel continues military escalation.

“Gaza also has a flood. If you act according to your politicians’ wishes, you will be caught in the flood. Be careful,” Qaani said, in an apparent reference to the Palestinian resistance’s ability to conduct surprise and large-scale military operations.

His remarks came shortly after Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Saeed Khatibzadeh said Tehran remains committed to pursuing peace and stability across multiple fronts in the region.

Speaking to Al Jazeera, Khatibzadeh stated that Iran has been working to secure a cessation of hostilities in both Gaza and Lebanon, noting that Lebanon was included in the recently signed memorandum of understanding between Tehran and Washington because of its direct connection to regional conflicts.

Earlier this week, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and US President Donald Trump electronically signed a memorandum of understanding aimed at creating a framework for ending hostilities between Iran and the United States and reducing tensions across the region.

According to Iranian officials, the agreement calls for an immediate halt to military operations on all fronts, including Gaza and Lebanon, while also facilitating the reopening of the strategic Strait of Hormuz.

Meanwhile, Major General Mohsen Rezaei, former commander-in-chief of the IRGC and a member of Iran’s Expediency Council, argued that a combination of domestic and international factors prevented the United States and Israel from achieving their objectives during the “Third Imposed War.”

“The chaotic situation in America was one of the most important factors in the stalemate between the American and Zionist enemies during the war,” Rezaei said.

He identified several key factors behind ‘the failure of the US-Israeli coalition to gain the upper hand,’ including political divisions inside the United States, fatigue and insufficient readiness within the US military, the absence of a viable military solution for the Strait of Hormuz, congressional resistance to further escalation, limited support from Washington’s allies, and mounting international pressure.

Rezaei specifically pointed to criticism from several countries, including Spain, as evidence of growing international opposition to continued military confrontation in the region.

“The American and Zionist enemies realized that they had lost control of the situation on the fifteenth day of the war,” he said.

The senior commander also underscored the role of the Resistance Front in shaping regional security dynamics, arguing that resistance movements have acted as a deterrent against Israeli expansionism and have contributed to safeguarding neighboring countries from occupation and destabilization.

The remarks by Qaani and Rezaei reflect a broader Iranian assessment that recent developments have reinforced the deterrence capabilities of the Resistance Axis, stretching from Palestine and Lebanon to other parts of West Asia. Iranian officials maintain that despite extensive military pressure and coordinated operations by the United States and Israel, resistance movements remain capable of influencing the strategic balance on the ground.

From Tehran’s perspective, the outcome of the latest confrontation demonstrated the limitations of military solutions and highlighted the resilience of regional resistance groups, while simultaneously increasing international calls for a political settlement to ongoing conflicts in Gaza and Lebanon.