US military to Iranians: stay home and keep away from IRGC sites

A US military official on Friday, 6 November 2026, urged Iranian citizens to stay at home and keep away from the positions and facilities of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) if military tension between the United States and the Islamic Republic escalates. The official, who was not named, told Iran International that during days of tension the safest place for Iranians is their own homes.

According to the official, the IRGC has placed its weapons and command centres in residential neighbourhoods, close to people's homes. The military official said the Islamic Republic's leaders and IRGC commanders are using citizens as human shields while they themselves hide in fortified facilities and underground bunkers. He added that the United States is concerned about the safety of the people of Iran.

Trump: talks are continuing

US President Donald Trump told reporters the same day, as he left Washington for Florida, that the United States is defeating Iran's government and that talks with it are continuing. He gave no details on the process or timing of the talks, but said the Strait of Hormuz is under US control and that the country has not lost a single soldier in the past six or seven months.

After his national security team's first meeting since the congressional elections, Trump had earlier said he would soon decide whether to resume the war. Qatar is mediating between the two sides, and the Islamic Republic has tied the talks to its seven conditions, including the lifting of sanctions, the release of frozen assets and war reparations. The United States says the nuclear file must be on the agenda from the start.

Background to the warning to citizens

The new warning comes as the US military remains ready for a possible resumption of strikes and as Russia has also told its citizens not to travel to Iran. On Friday night, residents of Qeshm also reported hearing the sound of a missile launch; no independent source has yet clarified what happened.

The US military says the IRGC has hidden its weapons and command centres among people's homes.