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.”
SECURITY: As China is ‘reshaping’ Hong Kong’s population, Taiwan must raise the eligibility threshold for applications from Hong Kongers, Chiu Chui-cheng said When Hong Kong and Macau citizens apply for residency in Taiwan, it would be under a new category that includes a “national security observation period,” Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) Minister Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) said yesterday. President William Lai (賴清德) on March 13 announced 17 strategies to counter China’s aggression toward Taiwan, including incorporating national security considerations into the review process for residency applications from Hong Kong and Macau citizens. The situation in Hong Kong is constantly changing, Chiu said to media yesterday on the sidelines of the Taipei Technology Run hosted by the Taipei Neihu Technology Park Development Association. With
A US Marine Corps regiment equipped with Naval Strike Missiles (NSM) is set to participate in the upcoming Balikatan 25 exercise in the Luzon Strait, marking the system’s first-ever deployment in the Philippines. US and Philippine officials have separately confirmed that the Navy Marine Expeditionary Ship Interdiction System (NMESIS) — the mobile launch platform for the Naval Strike Missile — would take part in the joint exercise. The missiles are being deployed to “a strategic first island chain chokepoint” in the waters between Taiwan proper and the Philippines, US-based Naval News reported. “The Luzon Strait and Bashi Channel represent a critical access
‘FORM OF PROTEST’: The German Institute Taipei said it was ‘shocked’ to see Nazi symbolism used in connection with political aims as it condemned the incident Sung Chien-liang (宋建樑), who led efforts to recall Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Lee Kun-cheng (李坤城), was released on bail of NT$80,000 yesterday amid an outcry over a Nazi armband he wore to questioning the night before. Sung arrived at the New Taipei City District Prosecutors’ Office for questioning in a recall petition forgery case on Tuesday night wearing a red armband bearing a swastika, carrying a copy of Adolf Hitler’s Mein Kampf and giving a Nazi salute. Sung left the building at 1:15am without the armband and apparently covering the book with a coat. This is a serious international scandal and Chinese
COUNTERINTELLIGENCE TRAINING: The ministry said 87.5 percent of the apprehended Chinese agents were reported by service members they tried to lure into becoming spies Taiwanese organized crime, illegal money lenders, temples and civic groups are complicit in Beijing’s infiltration of the armed forces, the Ministry of National Defense (MND) said in a report yesterday. Retired service members who had been turned to Beijing’s cause mainly relied on those channels to infiltrate the Taiwanese military, according to the report to be submitted to lawmakers ahead of tomorrow’s hearing on Chinese espionage in the military. Chinese intelligence typically used blackmail, Internet-based communications, bribery or debts to loan sharks to leverage active service personnel to do its bidding, it said. China’s main goals are to collect intelligence, and develop a