Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei yesterday warned of a forceful retaliation if the US or its allies bomb the Islamic republic, following a threat by US President Donald Trump.
“They threaten to do mischief,” Khamenei said of Trump’s latest threat, during a speech on Eid al-Fitr, the holiday marking the end of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan.
“If it is carried out, they will definitely receive a strong counterattack,” he said.
Photo: EPA-EFE / Supreme Leader’s Office
In an interview on Saturday, Trump said “there will be bombing” if Iran does not agree to a deal to curb its nuclear program.
“If they don’t make a deal, there will be bombing,” he said, according to NBC News, which said he also threatened to punish Iran with what he called “secondary tariffs.”
It was not clear whether Trump was threatening bombing by US planes alone or perhaps in an operation coordinated with another country, possibly Iran’s nemesis, Israel.
Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei, in a post on X, said that “an open threat of bombing by a head of state against Iran is a shocking affront to the very essence of international peace and security.”
Baqaei warned of unspecified “consequences” should the US choose a path of “violence.”
A statement released yesterday also said the foreign ministry summoned the charge d’affaires of the Swiss embassy, which represents US interests in Iran, “following the threats by the US president.”
Since taking office in January, Trump has reinstated his “maximum pressure” policy, which in his first term saw the US withdraw from a landmark agreement on Iran’s nuclear program and reimpose biting sanctions on Tehran.
Western countries, including the US, have long accused Iran of pursuing a nuclear weapon, which Tehran has denied, insisting its enrichment activities were solely for peaceful purposes.
The 2015 nuclear deal, sealed between Tehran and world powers, required Iran to limit its nuclear ambitions in exchange for sanctions relief.
Trump on March 7 said he had written to Khamenei to call for nuclear negotiations and warn of possible military action if Tehran refused.
The letter was delivered to Tehran on March 12 by United Arab Emirates presidential adviser Anwar Gargash, Iranian news agency Fars reported at the time.
On Thursday, Iranian Minister of Foreign Affairs Abbas Araghchi said the country had delivered a response via intermediary Oman, without delineating its content.
Araghchi said Iran would not engage in direct talks “under maximum pressure and the threat of military action.”
In his remarks, however, the minister left open the door for “indirect negotiations.”
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