Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has warned that any "miscalculation" or fresh aggression against the country will bring a "painful and destructive response".
The remarks came hours after US President Donald Trump said Washington must "finish up" the war and would soon decide whether to end it "the nice way or the not-so-nice way".
Speaking on Tuesday at an event hosted by defence technology firm Anduril Industries in Sparrows Point, Maryland, Trump said the US was doing "extremely well" against Iran.
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He claimed Tehran's military had been effectively destroyed, saying "the whole place is shot" and that Iran, once "the bully of the Middle East", was no longer one.
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The IRGC's statement, meanwhile, carried by the IRIB News Agency, struck a defiant tone.
It said the "second and third imposed wars" against Iran had shown that "the era of the threat has ended", and claimed the US and Israel had failed to meet their stated goals.
It was issued to mark three years since the October 7, 2023 Al-Aqsa Storm, the Hamas-led attack on Israel that set off the Gaza war and drew in Iran-aligned groups across West Asia.
The IRGC said the regional balance had shifted in favour of the "resistance axis", the network of Tehran-backed groups that includes Hezbollah in Lebanon, the Houthis in Yemen and armed factions in Iraq and Syria.
It also pointed to Iran's control over the Strait of Hormuz as a source of pressure on Washington and Tel Aviv.
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About a fifth of the world's oil normally passes through the strait, and disruption there has forced Gulf producers to lean on bypass pipelines and alternative ports.
Acknowledging the loss of senior commanders, the guards said the axis was "still standing". They paid tribute to Hamas leaders Ismail Haniyeh and Yahya Sinwar and vowed that resistance would continue until the "liberation of Quds", the Islamic name for Jerusalem.
The exchange comes against the backdrop of the US-Israeli war on Iran, which began earlier this year. Trump has repeatedly said the US must complete its objectives.
Taken together, the two sets of remarks leave the conflict at a crossroads. Washington is hinting at either a deal or a harder campaign, while Tehran is warning that it will answer escalation in kind.
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