Senior Advisor to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Seyyed Mojtaba Khamenei, Mohsen Rezaee, has issued a stern warning to US President Donald Trump over repeated threats of military action, saying that the “iron fist of Iran’s armed forces will force the US to retreat and surrender.”
Reacting to Trump’s recent remarks about postponing a planned attack on Iran, Rezaee slammed the US President’s approach, describing it as indecisive and driven by a misplaced expectation of forcing Iran into submission.
“He sets a deadline for a military strike and then cancels it himself! With this vain hope of making the Iranian nation and officials surrender! The iron fist of the powerful armed forces and the great Iranian nation will force them to retreat and surrender,” Rezaee said in a post on X.
Trump on Monday said he had temporarily delayed a planned military strike on Iran amid what he described as “very big discussions” with Tehran over the ongoing West Asia crisis.
Speaking to reporters, Trump said Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and several other countries had urged Washington to hold off military action for a few days, citing optimism over diplomatic progress.
“I put it (attack on Iran) off for a little while, hopefully maybe forever, but possibly for a little while because we've had very big discussions with Iran, and we'll see what they amount to. I was asked by Saudi Arabia, Qatar, UAE and some others if we could put it off for two or three days, a short period of time, because they think that they are getting very close to making a deal...It's a very positive development, but we'll see whether or not it amounts to anything,” Trump said.
He added that multiple countries were actively engaging with both Washington and Tehran in an effort to de-escalate tensions through diplomacy.
“I was called by these three countries, plus others, and they're dealing directly with our people and right now, Iran. There seems to be a very good chance that they can work something out. If we can do that without bombing the hell out of them, I will be very happy,” Trump said.
The developments come amid heightened tensions over Iran’s nuclear programme, with Washington continuing to weigh diplomatic and military options. While US officials maintain that Trump is pursuing a negotiated settlement, frustration has reportedly grown over Tehran’s reluctance to agree to key US demands.
Earlier, Trump rejected Iran’s latest peace proposal aimed at resolving the West Asia crisis, saying it failed to meet expectations and offered little meaningful progress towards a deal, according to Axios, citing a senior US official and a source familiar with the matter.
Iran’s revised proposal was reportedly delivered on Sunday night through Pakistani mediators. According to a senior US official cited by Axios, the latest draft includes only limited revisions from earlier submissions.
(With inputs from ANI)