Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, warned that any US attack on Iran would trigger a regional war, according to the semi-official Tasnim news agency.
“The Americans must know that if they start a war, this time it will be a regional war,” Khamenei was reported as saying.
The remarks by the 86-year-old leader mark the most explicit threat he has issued so far.
Tehran also warned that if Donald Trump orders strikes on Iran, it will target Israel and US military positions across the Middle East.
Trump, however, said yesterday that Iran is “talking seriously” with Washington, without giving details. “Iran is talking to us and we’ll see if we can do something,” the US president told Fox News, repeating that the United States has many warships deployed in the Middle East.
Despite the apparent opening for dialogue signalled by the US president, Axios reported two days ago that Saudi Arabia’s defence minister, Prince Khalid bin Salman, told a private briefing in Washington on Friday that if Trump fails to carry out his threats against Iran, the Iranian regime will emerge stronger.
The US outlet said the comment signals a shift in Saudi Arabia’s position, which until recently had warned against escalation. Three weeks earlier, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman had voiced strong concern to Trump about the risk of war, a factor that contributed to Trump’s decision to delay a strike.
The Saudi defence minister, the crown prince’s younger brother and close confidant, visited Washington against the backdrop of possible US military action against Iran, as Tehran threatened an “unprecedented” response.
Trump has ordered a major US military build-up in the Gulf, although the White House says no final decision has been taken and that diplomacy remains an option.
US officials say that just three weeks ago Saudi Arabia was strongly pressing the United States not to bomb Iran. One possible explanation for the shift is that Riyadh believes Trump has already decided to strike and does not want to appear to oppose him.
(information from skai.gr)
