Iran not a warmonger, but will stand up to bullying: Top general outlines Leader’s reply to Trump’s letter
In reaction to a letter sent by US President Donald Trump last month, Iran’s top general says Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei did what he was told and did what was “appropriate.”
His words came from a meeting on Sunday with leaders, managers, and staff from the Armed Forces and the Khatam al-Anbia Air Defense Base. Baqeri is the Chairman of the Chiefs of Staff of the Armed Forces.
Baqeri made it clear that Iran is not a warmaker and will strongly fight any kind of bullying. He talked about the leader’s plan, which says that Iran will not start a war but will strongly react to any threats.
“The Islamic Republic of Iran is not a foe of war, but it will not stand for bullying,” he said.
“We want to see peace in the area…” “We are not trying to get nuclear weapons; instead, we are taking care of the needs of our country in the nuclear issue,” the top Iranian general said, referring to the leader’s plan for the nuclear case.
He said that because of Ayatollah Khamenei’s position on talking to the US, Iran would not hold direct talks, but there would be no problem with informal talks.
In past talks, Ayatollah Khamenei had called Trump the “most unreliable and unfaithful” party, so Baqeri said, “There is no trust in you.”
Trump said on March 7 that he had written to Iran to demand nuclear talks and warn of military action. Anwar Gargash, a presidential adviser for the UAE, brought the letter to Tehran on March 12.
Abbas Araghchi, the foreign minister of Iran, said on March 27 that Tehran’s official answer to the letter from the US president had been sent through Oman.
In a confusing move, the US president both asked Tehran to have direct talks about its nuclear program and threatened to bomb Iran if talks fail.
Tehran has made it clear many times that it will not negotiate with the US government as long as Trump keeps putting pressure on the country.
The Iranian general praised the leader’s “reasonable and sage” answer, which would let the Iranian people and all other countries know that the Islamic Republic’s plan is to protect its interests and move forward.
He said that if someone did something bad to the Islamic Republic’s interests and authority, the Iranian Armed Forces would punish them in a way that could not be fixed.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian on Saturday criticized the language of threat against Tehran, saying the country is willing to engage in negotiations “on equal footing.”
“The Islamic Republic of Iran seeks dialogue on equal footing. They threaten Iran on one hand and seek to hold negotiations on the other,” Pezeshkian added.