Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Chamenei warned the US against attacking his country, stating that the US and Israel have always been hostile towards Iran. In a speech on Monday, Chamenei said that the US and Israel have repeatedly threatened attacks, but Iran considers these threats unlikely. If such attacks were to occur, Iran would respond with a strong counterattack.
Chamenei also warned that the US and Israel would not be able to achieve their goals by inciting the Iranian people, as they have attempted to do in the past. The Iranian people, he said, would deal with them.
On Sunday, US President Donald Trump stated that the US would use force if Iran failed to agree on its nuclear program. Trump mentioned the possibility of bombings on the country. Shortly after, Iranian President Massud Peseschkian clarified that Iran would not engage in direct talks, but was open to indirect negotiations, pending a change in the US’s past behavior and the establishment of a new basis of trust.
Esmail Baghaei, the Iranian Foreign Ministry’s spokesperson, wrote in a statement on Monday that the open threat of a bombing by a head of state was a shocking affront to the essence of international peace and security, violating the UN Charter and the safeguards of the International Atomic Energy Agency. “Violence begets violence, peace creates peace. The US can choose its course and accept the consequences” he said.
In 2015, Iran signed an agreement with the US, Russia, China, the UK, France and Germany, in which it agreed to limit its nuclear program in exchange for the lifting of international sanctions. Trump renounced the pact during his first term in 2018.