Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian said on Friday (March 6, 2026) some countries had begun mediation efforts to end the war and asked them to focus on those who “ignited the conflict”, even as the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said they were prepared for a “prolonged war”.

“Some countries have begun mediation efforts. Let’s be clear: we are committed to lasting peace in the region, yet we have no hesitation in defending our nation’s dignity and sovereignty, Mr. Pezeshkian, a medical doctor-turned-politician who got elected President in 2024, wrote in a post on X.

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“Mediation should address those who underestimated the Iranian people and ignited this conflict,” he added.

Earlier on Thursday (March 5, 2026) U.S. President Donald Trump said that Iran wanted to make a deal. “They are calling, they are saying, ‘how do we make a deal? I said, ‘you are being a little too late, and we want to fight now more than they do,” he said at the White House.

Mr. Trump had said on March 1, a day after the U.S. and Israel started the war, that Iran wanted to talk. In response, Ali Larijani, the chief of Iran’s Security Council, said: “We will not talk to the Americans.”

As the war entered the seventh day on Friday (March 6, 2026), the U.S. and Israel carried out broad strikes in Iran, where the death toll climbed to 1,300, according to authorities. Israel also launched massive attacks in Lebanon where its troops are fighting Hezbollah, a Shia militia group.

Iran’s state media reported on Friday (March 6, 2026), citing satellite images, that Iranian attacks “destroyed” several U.S. military radars in the UAE and Jordan. “One such radar, supporting an American THAAD missile battery at Muwaffaq Salti Air Base in Jordan, appears to have been hit and destroyed in the opening days of the war, according to satellite imagery captured Monday,” claimed a Press TV report.

Iran also targeted the Israeli embassy in Bahrain and Qatar’s al-Udeid U.S. airbase overnight, according to semi-official Fars News Agency. A key oil refinery in Bahrain got hit on Thursday (March 5, 2026). Manama said it shot down multiple drones and missiles overnight.

Israeli media reported on Friday (March 6, 2026) that Iranian missiles hit southern parts of the country.

An IRGC spokesperson said Iran was “fully prepared for a prolonged war” and was set to introduce a new set of strategic weaponry. “These technologies have not yet been deployed on a large scale. The enemy should expect painful blows in every upcoming operational wave,” Brigadier General Ali Mohammad Naeini said.

The IRGC has launched the 22nd wave of Operation True Promise 4 with a barrage of Khorramshahr 4, Khaibar and Fattah missiles targeting the “heart of the occupied territories,” claimed the state media.

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Mohammad-Bagher Ghalibaf, Iran’s Parliament Speaker, claimed on Friday (March 6, 2026) that Iranian attacks forced the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier to retreat. “What a fuss they kicked up over the aircraft carrier Abraham Lincoln to put pressure on us, but this so-called bride of praise, in its first encounter with Iranian missiles and drones, abandoned the battlefield and retreated,” he wrote in a social media post. “The navy that was supposed to defend the security and stability of America’s allies can’t even defend itself against a few drones and takes to its heels in flight!”

Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said the country was “long prepared for this war.”

“Iran’s Powerful Armed Forces are ensuring that it becomes a quagmire for whomever chooses to pursue it,” he wrote in a social media post. “We negotiated twice with this U.S. Administration. Both times, we were attacked in the middle of talks. It bears full responsibility for bloodshed.”

Earlier in an interview with a American TV, when he was asked whether Iran was afraid of a ground invasion by U.S. forces, Mr. Araghchi said, “We are waiting for them.”

According to Mr. Araghchi, the U.S.’s “Plan A for a clean rapid military victory failed”.

He added: “Your Plan B will be even bigger failure. The truth: Chance for unique deal burned after the ‘America Last’ cabal obscured “significant progress” we made in negotiations. ‘Israel First’ always means ‘America Last’.”

Published – March 06, 2026 07:23 pm IST

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz speaks during a meeting with President Donald Trump in the Oval Office at the White House, on Tuesday, March 3, 2026, in Washington.
| Photo Credit: AP