Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has again threatened a “tough and regrettable” response from the Iranian leadership to any aggression. The Iranian president’s post on X comes amid rising tensions in the Middle East, lending more weight to the timing of the message.
The warning also comes after US President Donald Trump threatened to overhaul Iran’s nuclear program.
“The response of the Islamic Republic of Iran to any repressive aggression will be harsh and deplorable,” Masoud Pezeshkian said.
What did Trump say?
US President Donald Trump said at a joint press conference with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that he had heard that Iran was trying to rebuild its capabilities. He warned that the US would respond strongly if Tehran did so, though he added that he hoped that would not be necessary.
“I’m hearing now that Iran is trying to build up again. And if they do, we’re going to have to knock them down. We’re going to knock them down. We’re going to knock the hell out of them. But let’s hope it doesn’t happen,” Trump said.
Just a few days ago, Pezeshkian claimed that Iran was in a “full-scale war” against the United States, Europe and Israel.
Six months after Israel and the US launched strikes on Iran, Massoud Pezeshkian told the official website of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei: “In my opinion, we are at total war with the United States, Israel and Europe. They want to bring our country to its knees.”
Also read | US joins Israel-Iran war: How Russia, China, Tehran and other world media reacted – ‘US recession will be next’
He said: “This war is worse than the one that Iraq started against us. On closer examination, it is much more complex and difficult.”
Israeli and US strikes on Iran during a 12-day air war in June killed nearly 1,100 Iranians, including senior military commanders and nuclear scientists. Retaliatory rocket fire by Iran kills 28 in Israel. The US attacked Iran’s nuclear facilities at Fordow, Natanz, and Esfahan, bringing it into the Israeli-Iranian conflict. Later, US President Donald Trump declared that Iran’s nuclear sites had been “totally destroyed”.
After the attacks, France, Britain and Germany participated in the reimposition of UN sanctions on Iran. Also read | Explained: How the Israel-Iran conflict escalated – what’s happened so far
The “war scale” remarks also came just two days before a meeting between Donald Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu, where Iran was expected to be a key topic of conversation.
Iran’s intelligence ministry also warned in November of attempts by foreign adversaries to target Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and destabilize the Islamic republic.
Intelligence Minister Esmail Khatib warned that “the enemy is trying to target the supreme leader, sometimes through assassination attempts, sometimes through hostile attacks.”
“Those who act in this direction, knowingly or unknowingly, are infiltrating agents of the enemy,” he said.
