Security Chief Vows Firm Response to Any Aggression

EghtesadOnline: Iran’s security chief strongly reacted to US President Donald Trump’s recent threat, saying aggressive forces will be "sent to the cemetery", should they dare launch any military adventurism against the country.

News ID: ۷۵۱۰۴۶

20 September 2020

Trump said in a tweet last week that any possible attack by Iran would be met with a response "1,000 times greater in magnitude".

He made the threat after US media cited unnamed American officials as claiming that Iran was planning to assassinate US Ambassador to South Africa Lana Marks in retaliation for the January assassination of Major General Qasem Soleimani, the commander of the Quds Force of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps near Baghdad’s airport.

A US media report alleged that Iran planned to assassinate the American diplomat before the presidential election in November.

In a post on Twitter on Wednesday, Ali Shamkhani, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, pledged a crushing response to any act of aggression, reminding the US about the Islamic Republic’s effective defense against Iraq’s invasion of the country in 1980-88, ISNA reported.

In letters addressed to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and President of the UN Security Council Abdou Abarry, the Iranian ambassador to the UN complained to the world body about Trump’s threat.

“Such a provocative statement constitutes a gross violation of the very fundamental principles enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations,” Majid Takht-Ravanchi wrote in the letter, saying Trump had made “a baseless allegation” against Iran.

The Iranian envoy reminded the UN that the US president had threatened Iran several times following the assassination of General Soleimani, calling on the UN Security Council to help put an end to such American threats.

Separately, Iranian Government Spokesman Ali Rabiei warned the United States against making another “strategic mistake” following Trump’s threat.

“We hope that they do not make a new strategic mistake. In that case, they will face our resistance,” Rabiei said.