Furious comments issued by President Donald Trump over the weekend prompted a swift and aggressive response from Iran, while Russian President Vladimir Putin remains tight-lipped in the face of the U.S. leader’s ire.
Iran’s supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, issued a warning on Monday and said it would respond “decisively and immediately” to any threat issued by the U.S. after Trump said there “will be bombing” and likely more tariffs if Tehran does not agree to a nuclear deal with Washington.
“The enmity from the U.S. and Israel has always been there. They threaten to attack us, which we don’t think is very probable, but if they commit any mischief, they will surely receive a strong reciprocal blow,” Khamenei said according to a Reuters report.
“And if they are thinking of causing sedition inside the country as in past years, the Iranian people themselves will deal with them,” he added.
Despite Iran’s refusal and warning directed at both the U.S. and Israel, Behnam Ben Taleblu, an Iran expert and senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, said Khamenei’s comments are an attempt to “buy time” while balancing growing external and internal pressures on his regime.
“At once, Khamenei sought to both downplay the chances of President Trump or Israel taking military action while also looking to deter such an eventuality due to the regime’s own policies,” he told Fox News Digital. “This is a tightrope Khamenei will increasingly be forced to walk as he plays for time and engages in nuclear escalation.
“U.S. policy should be to keep Khamenei off balance,” he added.
Continue reading
Discussion about this post