President Ebrahim Raisi has issued a stark warning to Iran’s enemies, saying the Islamic Republic does not intend to start a war but will respond firmly and decisively to an oppressor or force that wants to bully the country.
President Raisi issued the warning while addressing a large gathering of the people in Minab, a city in the eastern Iranian province of Hormuzgan on Friday.
“We have often clarified that Iran will not initiate a war but will answer bullies firmly and authoritatively”, he said, stressing that Iran’s military is for self-defense and does not pose any threat to regional countries.
“The military power of the Islamic Republic of Iran is not a threat to any country, rather it is a security generator and the regional countries can rely on this power’, the Iranian president underlined.
Raisi also pointed to threats and rhetoric used against the Islamic Republic.
“In the past, whenever they wanted to talk to Iran, they used the language of threats such as the military option is on the table but now we don’t hear those words rather they say even that they are not seeking war”, he said in an indirect reference to past US policies as well as the recent remarks by some American officials following a deadly drone strike on a US military base in Jordan.
Elsewhere in his remarks, the Iranian president hailed the country’s achievement in the defensive arena, calling it a power of deterrence.
“This morning I visited the IRGC (Islamic Revolution Guards Corps) Navy exhibition where many of innovations by our elite forces and experts were valuable that the enemy would never believe in”, Raisi noted, adding that these works are aimed at enhancing the country’s defense and creating security in the air, sea and land, IRNA news agency reports.
Photo ©️ Reuters File photo
