Iran has the right to respond to US options, warns senior Iranian official

Tehran/Washington – The US statement about using ‘other options’ against Iran is a threat, and Iran reserves the right to retaliate against it, Ali Shamkhani, a senior Iranian official, has warned. According to their UN ambassador, Israel has been warned along with the United States that Iran has the right to take action against any Israeli move. Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett recently visited the United States. Indications are that Iran has taken an aggressive stance against the backdrop of the statements made by the United States and Israel.

Last week, Israeli Prime Minister Bennett visited the United States. Bennett and US President Joe Biden discussed Iran’s nuclear program and other developments in the Gulf. US media outlets have claimed that the Israeli prime minister has a “death by thousand cuts” policy against Iran. This time, Biden told Bennett that his priority was negotiating on a nuclear deal with Iran. At the same time, it was said that if the talks failed, the US would use other options.

The US president‘s remarks drew an aggressive response from Iran. ‘The emphasis on using other options against Iran is a threat to Iran. This threat is illegal. Iran has every right to retaliate against this threat from the United States,’ said Ali Shamkhani, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council. Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei also criticised Biden.

‘The current administration of the United States is no different from the previous administration. On the issue of the nuclear program, the Biden administration has put forward the same demands that Trump had made, only in different words. The United States is not ashamed of this. The United States is negotiating as if Iran has pulled out of the nuclear deal.’ Khamenei said. Referring to Afghanistan, Khamenei retorted that the United States is a ‘wolf’ and sometimes a ‘sly fox’.

Iran’s ambassador to the United Nations has threatened Israel, following the warnings from Khamenei and Shamkhani to the United States. ‘Iran has every right to take action to protect its interests and sovereignty if the Israeli regime attempts any misadventure or daring act,’ Iran’s ambassador Zahra Ershadi warned. Ershadi also backed Iran’s nuclear program, saying it had the right to continue nuclear research and other endeavours.

Meanwhile, Iran’s new Foreign Minister, Hossein Amir Abdollahian, visited Syria. On Sunday, he met with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. During the meeting, Iran and Syria expressed their determination to respond to US sanctions mutually. Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdulahian also claimed that relations between the two countries would be strengthened under the leadership of the new Iranian government.