Iran warned yesterday that it would decisively confront "any unwise move" by the US, the news agency IRNA reported.
"We will rely on our popular support, diplomatic capacities and military strength, and decisively confront any unwise US move in Iran," Foreign Ministry Spokesman Hamid-Reza Assefi told IRNA.
The spokesman was referring to perceived military threats by US President George W. Bush in a television interview on Monday.
"We however consider these moves as a psychological war and political pressure by radical US circles and the neo-conservative wing," Assefi added.
On US secretary of state-designate Condoleezza Rice's classification of Iran as among "outposts of tyranny," the spokesman said that such remarks reflected the political class and status of the US in the world.
"We recommend to the new US foreign minister to revise the wrong American policies, or at least avoid a repetition of previous mistakes such as in Iraq," Assefi said.
The spokesman accused both Bush and Rice of trying to disrupt constructive talks between Iran and the EU.
Iran's state-television network IRIB earlier yesterday praised the stance by the EU against perceived military threats by Bush.
IRIB, which reflects the official stance of the establishment, said that despite "threats" by Washington, the EU had stuck to its decision to continue the diplomatic course with Iran.
The European Commission said Tuesday the EU preferred using diplomacy to prevent Iran from producing nuclear weapons, in response to comments by Bush that he did not rule out a military strike against Iran.
Former Iranian president Akbar Hashemi-Rafsanjani said Tuesday that Tehran had no fear of threats by foreign enemies, but warned the US against attacking Iran.
A spokesman for the National Security Council also dismissed a report in The New Yorker magazine which claimed that the US was already running operations in Iran ahead of an attack.
The spokesman accused the article's author, renowned reporter Seymour Hersh, of "working for the CIA and Pentagon, as such kinds of reports can only be provided by American officials."
Iran's defense ministry on Monday announced that the US would not dare attack Iran, and that the Iranian defense industry had already achieved a level which could stop any enemy.
FIREPOWER: On top of the torpedoes, the military would procure Kestrel II anti-tank weapons systems to replace aging license-produced M72 LAW launchers Taiwan is to receive US-made Mark 48 torpedoes and training simulators over the next three years, following delays that hampered the navy’s operational readiness, the Ministry of National Defense’s latest budget proposal showed. The navy next year would acquire four training simulator systems for the torpedoes and take receipt of 14 torpedoes in 2027 and 10 torpedoes in 2028, the ministry said in its budget for the next fiscal year. The torpedoes would almost certainly be utilized in the navy’s two upgraded Chien Lung-class submarines and the indigenously developed Hai Kun, should the attack sub successfully reach operational status. US President Donald Trump
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) is expected to start construction of its 1.4-nanometer chip manufacturing facilities at the Central Taiwan Science Park (CTSP, 中部科學園區) as early as October, the Chinese-language Liberty Times (the Taipei Times’ sister newspaper) reported yesterday, citing the park administration. TSMC acquired land for the second phase of the park’s expansion in Taichung in June. Large cement, construction and facility engineering companies in central Taiwan have reportedly been receiving bids for TSMC-related projects, the report said. Supply-chain firms estimated that the business opportunities for engineering, equipment and materials supply, and back-end packaging and testing could reach as high as
ALL QUIET: The Philippine foreign secretary told senators she would not respond to questions about whether Lin Chia-lung was in the country The Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Wednesday confirmed that a business delegation is visiting the Philippines, but declined to say whether Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) is part of the group, as Philippine lawmakers raised questions over Lin’s reported visit. The group is being led by Deputy Minister of Agriculture Huang Chao-chin (黃昭欽), Chinese International Economic Cooperation Association (CIECA) chairman Joseph Lyu (呂桔誠) and US-Taiwan Business Council (USTBC) vice president Lotta Danielsson, the ministry said in a statement. However, sources speaking on condition of anonymity said that Lin is leading the delegation of 70 people. Filinvest New Clark City Innovation Park
TPP RALLY: The clashes occurred near the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall on Saturday at a rally to mark the anniversary of a raid on former TPP chairman Ko Wen-je People who clashed with police at a Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) rally in Taipei on Saturday would be referred to prosecutors for investigation, said the Ministry of the Interior, which oversees the National Police Agency. Taipei police had collected evidence of obstruction of public officials and coercion by “disorderly” demonstrators, as well as contraventions of the Assembly and Parade Act (集會遊行法), the ministry said in a statement on Sunday. It added that amid the “severe pushing and jostling” by some demonstrators, eight police officers were injured, including one who was sent to hospital after losing consciousness, allegedly due to heat stroke. The Taipei