Khamenei warns U.S. war would go regional
Iran leader says Tehran will respond forcefully to any aggression
Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei has warned that any war initiated by the United States against Iran would turn into a regional war.
Addressing a large gathering of people at the Imam Khomeini Hussainiya, the Leader said recent US rhetoric about war and military assets was nothing new.
“The Americans should know that if they start a war this time, it will be a regional war,” he said, stressing that threats and displays of military power will not intimidate the Iranian nation.
“Sometimes they talk about war and speak of aircraft and warships; this is not a new thing,” he said, recalling that US officials had repeatedly threatened Iran in the past by claiming that “all options are on the table, including the option of war.”
Referring to US President Donald Trump’s threats against Iran, Ayatollah Khamenei said, “The Iranian nation should not be frightened by these things; the people of Iran are not affected by such threats.”
He emphasized that Iran would not be the initiator of any war, but warned of a firm response to aggression.
“We are not the ones who start [a war], and we do not want to attack any country, but the Iranian nation will deliver a hard punch to anyone who attacks and harasses it,” he said.
Meanwhile Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf says Iran considers European countries’ armies as terrorist groups in a counter-measure against the European Union’s blacklisting of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC).
He made the remarks during an open session of Parliament, days after EU foreign ministers classified the IRGC as a “terrorist” entity in a move denounced as “unlawful, unjustified, and duplicitous” by the Iranian Foreign Ministry. The designation came at a time when the United States had escalated its bellicose threats against Iran and built up a military presence in the region.
