As reports circulate that the US is moving more military assets within striking distance of Iran, Tehran appears to be seeking to warn Washington against escalation.
Iran’s parliament speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf spoke at Tehran University on international al-Quds Day on Friday, warning the US.
“If they threaten Islamic Iran, then, like powder kegs, America’s allies in the region and US bases will be made unsafe,” Qalibaf said.
This is clearly a threat to US forces in Iraq, the Gulf, and perhaps even Syria. The US has bases in Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, and the UAE. The US also has forces at the Al-Asad Airbase in Iraq, in northern Iraq, and a number of posts in Eastern Syria.
“Qalibaf says if the United States carries out military threats against Iran, US allies and American military bases in the region will be made unsafe,” Iranian state media reported. Clearly, this also implies that Iran could strike at Israel or the Gulf states in retaliation for a strike.
Recent reports indicate the US has moved at least four stealth B-2 bombers to the island of Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean.
Qalibaf also referred to US President Donald Trump’s letter to Iran.
“America’s attitude in the letter is one of a bully… But you can neither bully nor deceive the Iranian nation.”Iran’s supreme leader has also cautioned against direct talks with the US. It appears the Iranian president and foreign minister are more keen on talks.
Qalibaf spoke of US threats as being a potential “prelude to war.” Trump has reportedly given the Iranians about 60 days to decide. This means they will need to decide in late May.
Iran will not engage in negotiations
According to the Islamic Republic News Agency, Qalibaf, slamming Israel, also said: “The hegemonic system has survived by oppressing humanity, and the Zionist regime is, in fact, criminal America’s killing machine.”
Qalibaf is known for flying into Beirut during Israel’s campaign against Hezbollah to show support for Hezbollah. “Israel would not have survived for a week without US support,” he said on Friday.
Iran typically uses al-Quds Day, the last Friday in Ramadan, to try to get people to protest and hate Israel. This year, it was more muted because Iran lost influence in Syria and other places.
“Tehran has strongly condemned Israel’s latest military assaults on residential areas in Beirut, calling them a blatant violation of the ceasefire agreement between the Zionist regime and the Lebanese resistance movement, Hezbollah,” IRNA also said on Saturday.
Iran wants to show it still backs Hezbollah, even though Hezbollah is now much weaker than in the past. The Islamic Republic’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baqaei slammed Israel for its strikes on Hezbollah.Israel struck Beirut in response to recent rocket fire, and Israel also carried out other strikes last week in response to rockets launched against it.
“Rejecting Israel’s justifications for the attacks as baseless, [Baqaei] emphasized that the global community must adopt decisive measures against Israel’s continued violations across the region, from Gaza to Lebanon and Syria,” the IRNA noted.
Meanwhile, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi also said Iran will not engage in negotiations under pressure or threats from the US.
“Araghchi has reiterated that the Islamic Republic will not engage in negotiations under pressure or threats, emphasizing that the country is ready both to thwart threats and engage in diplomacy,” the IRNA reported.He made the comments to Al-Alam media in Iran on al-Quds Day.
“Anyone who speaks to the Iranian people with the language of threats will receive the same response,” Araghchi said.According to the media, “Araghchi expressed doubt over the practical implementation of what he said were US threats.”“We are fully ready for both threats and diplomacy,” he added.
Iran’s deputy foreign minister for legal and international affairs, Kazem Gharibabadi, also announced the “holding of expert nuclear talks between Iran and three European countries in Geneva,” the IRNA noted.
“Specialized and technical talks between the four countries on the nuclear issue and the lifting of sanctions were held at the expert level in Geneva on Thursday,” Gharibabadi wrote on X/Twitter.