▲ Tehran, Iran
In response to U.S. President Donald Trump's hardline remarks targeting Iran during his UN General Assembly speech, the Iranian military dismissed them as a "sign of strategic despair and domestic political propaganda," while warning of strong military retaliation.
According to Iran's state-run IRIB broadcaster on the 22nd (local time), the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran and the Central Headquarters of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) issued a joint statement earlier that day, launching a scathing critique of President Trump's remarks.
In the statement, the military criticized, "The hostile remarks and repeated threats hurled by the U.S. president against Iran are not grounded in facts, but are thoroughly mere tools for domestic propaganda," adding, "The U.S. has abused the UN stage to justify global aggression, instability, and plunder."
It further downplayed the speech, evaluating that "considering the decline of the U.S. military, the repetition of these baseless claims and threats is not a display of strength, but proof that the U.S. offensive against Iran has fallen into a strategic deadlock and despair."
The statement also claimed, "While Iran has always been a source of regional security, especially free international trade, the U.S., which maintains an illegal and aggressive presence in the Middle East, is the source of threat and instability," and asserted, "The U.S. is holding the global economy hostage to make up for its repeated failures in acts of aggression and maritime provocations targeting Iran."
The Iranian military also hinted at the possibility of strong physical retaliation.
Mentioning U.S. threats against the Imam (Islamic religious leader), innocent children, and victims of tragedies in the regions of Minab and Lamard, the statement warned, "Drawing upon the experiences of the 'Sacred Defense' (Iran-Iraq War) and second and third imposed wars, the powerful Iranian military is fully prepared to deliver harsher, more devastating, and unpredictable blows to the aggressors, the U.S., and the leadership of the Zionist regime (Israel)."
Finally, the military emphasized, "Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian will convey the message of Iran's brave people and heroic military, as well as Iran's unbreakable resilience, to the entire world from this UN General Assembly podium."
Earlier that day, during his keynote speech at the high-level session of the UN General Assembly held at the UN Headquarters in New York, President Trump stated, "I have a major decision to make," bringing up options of either giving Iran a chance at reconstruction through negotiations or annihilating Iran.
He said, "Will we make a deal with Iran and allow them to rebuild and become a nation far greater than ever before? Or will we swiftly annihilate Iran, leaving them no further opportunity to slaughter people and destroy nations?"
He went on to threaten, "Will we drive them to hell, leaving them no chance of survival, no hope for future prosperity or for their descendants?"
During this process, the Iranian delegation present in the UN General Assembly hall walked out.
(Photo: AP, Yonhap News)
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