Iran defense spokesperson tells US to accept Iran's demands or face battlefield defeat

• The spokesperson rejected statements and assessments from US President Donald Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.
• Talaei-Nik said that Iran’s armaments rely on domestic strategic manufacturing and upgraded technologies.

Iran's Ministry of Defense issued a blunt warning to the US on Wednesday, stating that adversaries must either accept Tehran's legitimate demands or face "surrender on the battlefield," as reported by Iran's news agency.

Reza Talaei-Nik, spokesman for the Ministry of Defense and Armed Forces Logistics, said that Iran’s defensive capabilities and arsenal have been reinforced rather than depleted by the ongoing confrontation.

"Iran’s military capabilities, backed by strategic production and advanced technologies, go beyond Trump’s and the loser Pete’s misleading statistics," adding that "our defense capabilities have been strengthened, and the outcome of the war is clear: either acceptance of Iran’s legitimate demands, or the enemy’s surrender on the battlefield."

During a formal Pentagon press briefing yesterday US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth stated that Washington had achieved a "historic military victory" across every metric.

Hegseth added that through fewer than 40 days of continuous combat operations, US forces hit more than 13,000 targets, sinking Iran's navy, grounding its air fleet, and destroying both its conventional defense manufacturing and over 80% of its nuclear industrial base.

"Their navy sunk. Their air force grounded. Their defense industrial base gone. More than 80% of their nuclear industrial base gone," he said.

He stated that American forces maintain an unbroken blockade, control the Strait of Hormuz, and have ensured that authorities in Tehran "will never, ever have a nuclear weapon," attributing the outcome to the leadership of the commander-in-chief.