Surrender has no place in Iranian nation’s lexicon: Army commander

A senior Iranian Army commander has hailed the country's victories in three imposed wars since the 1979 Islamic Revolution, saying submission to the enemy has no place in the nation’s lexicon.

Deputy Army Commander for Coordination Rear Admiral Habibollah Sayyari made the remarks on Thursday during a nightly gathering of Iranians in Tehran to voice support for the Islamic Republic.

He said that the three illegal wars against Iran, including the 1980s’ Iraq war, and two US-Israeli acts of aggression, namely the 12-day one in June 2025 and this year’s 40-day one, sought to defeat the Islamic Revolution and disintegrate the country.

He enumerated strong command over the Iranian armed forces, the nation’s steadfastness, the armed forces’ defensive and deterrent capability, and the people’s presence on the scene as four factors that led to the adversaries’ failure in all three wars.

“Throughout history, our people have neither accepted captivity nor surrendered to the enemy. How could they possibly bow down now before a group of comfort-seeking individuals who have come from thousands of kilometers away to force us to submit? Does surrender have any place in our nation’s lexicon? Certainly not,” he added.

Former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein launched a massive invasion in 1980 in a bid to seize Iran's resource-rich Khuzestan province, less than two years after the Islamic Revolution. With the Army mostly in disarray, Iranians closed ranks under the leadership of the late founder of the Islamic Republic Imam Khomeini as they rushed to the warfronts to push back Iraqi forces and liberate occupied territories. 

The war ended in 1988 with a ceasefire deal, with the Iraqi dictator failing to achieve any of his goals and Iran not conceding an inch of its territory.    

Similarly, in the two recent US-Israeli wars of aggression, the enemies were forced to accept a truce amid Iran's brave resistance and successful retaliatory operations.

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Sayyari said that in all three military assaults against Iran, the enemy enjoyed international support and used a proxy arm on the front lines.

Saddam was the enemy’s proxy in the first imposed war while the Zionist regime played the same role in the second and third acts of aggression, he noted.

"In all three wars, the enemies thought they could easily enter our country and seize our provinces," the senior commander said, emphasizing, however, that the enemies were defeated as they failed to collapse the Islamic establishment and divide Iran.

He also said that the enemy targeted the Army installations in a city with 1,200 missiles, drones, and bombs, but the attacks failed to shake the Iranian forces’ resolve and made them stronger.

“The armed forces in the Islamic Republic of Iran Army, the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC), police, the Basij volunteer force, and the Ministry of Defense, stand united and ready to crush any future threat with absolute authority,” he asserted.

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