Tehran warned Monday the U.S. attack on Iran’s nuclear sites expanded the range of legitimate targets for the “fighters of Islam” to hit in revenge, adding U.S. President Donald Trump is a “gambler” for joining Israel’s military campaign against the Islamic Republic.
Ebrahim Zolfaqari, spokesperson for Iran’s Khatam al-Anbiya central military headquarters, said the U.S. must now prepare to pay a heavy price for its actions in bombing Iranian nuclear sites.
He announced on state television the U.S. “hostile act”, following more than a week of Israeli bombardments, would “pave the way for the extension of war in the region.”
“Mr Trump, the gambler, you may start this war, but we will be the ones to end it,” Zolfaqari said in English at the end of a recorded video statement as reported by AFP.
“The fighters of Islam will inflict serious, unpredictable consequences on you with powerful and targeted (military) operations,” he warned.
Oman, a key mediator in the stalled Iran-U.S. nuclear talks, further condemned the U.S. strikes and called for calm.
Trump: Iran Nuke Sites ‘Completely Obliterated’
“Future generations will not forget that the Iranians were in the middle of a diplomatic process with a country that is now at war with us,” said ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei per the AGP report.
Britain, France and Germany called on Iran “not to take any further action that could destabilise the region.”
For his part, Trump simply warned if Iran retaliates against the U.S., it “will be met with force far greater than what was witnessed.”
“ANY RETALIATION BY IRAN AGAINST THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA WILL BE MET WITH FORCE FAR GREATER THAN WHAT WAS WITNESSED TONIGHT. THANK YOU! DONALD J. TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES,” Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social.
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