Iran’s supreme leader warns US against regional war
Iran’s supreme leader has warned of a regional war in the event of a US attack. “The Americans should know that if they start a war, this time it will be a regional war,” Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said, according to the Iranian news agency Tasnim.
Iran does not want war and will not start one, said the religious leader, who has the final say on all strategic matters. “But the Iranian people will deal a severe blow to anyone who attacks or causes harm.”
Recently, fears of a new war had grown again. US President Donald Trump has repeatedly threatened the government in Tehran with military strikes, including because of the brutal crackdown by state repressive forces against demonstrators during the recent mass protests. There has been talk of new negotiations for a few days. (dpa)
Iran declares, among other things, the Bundeswehr a terrorist group
Iran has declared the armed forces of EU member states “terrorist groups”. Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammed Bagher Ghalibaf announced this on Sunday in front of the parliament in Tehran. Iran was reacting to the EU’s decision to classify the Iranian Revolutionary Guards as a terrorist organization. The European Union blames the Revolutionary Guards for the suppression of the recent protest movement.
Ghalibaf called the EU’s move an “irresponsible action” and said: “According to Article 7 of the Countermeasures Law to classify the IRGC as a terrorist organization, the armies of European countries are considered terrorist groups.” The announcement appeared to be primarily symbolic in nature; its consequences were initially unclear.
The law cited by Ghalibaf was passed in 2019, when the US classified the Revolutionary Guards as a terrorist organization. The parliamentary session in Tehran took place on the 47th anniversary of the return from exile of former revolutionary leader Ayatollah Khomenei, who founded the Islamic Republic in 1979.
The Revolutionary Guards are the ideological arm of the Iranian military and are tasked with defending the Islamic Revolution against internal and external threats. (afp)
India should no longer buy oil from Iran
According to US President Donald Trump, the USA is increasing pressure on Iran. India will purchase oil from Venezuela in the future and thus avoid imports from the Islamic Republic, Trump said on Saturday to journalists on board “Air Force One” on the way to Florida. “We have already made this deal,” the president said, without giving details.
The US government’s declared goal is sanctions to force the government in Tehran to give in in the dispute over the nuclear program and the brutal suppression of protests. Oil exports are Iran’s main foreign exchange earnings.
The US government this week eased some sanctions against the Venezuelan oil industry to make it easier to sell crude oil. (rtr)
Qatar’s head of government travels to Iran
Against the backdrop of tensions between Washington and Tehran, Qatar’s Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani traveled to Iran on Saturday. According to the Foreign Ministry in Doha, al-Thani, who is also his country’s foreign minister, met in Tehran with the head of Iran’s National Security Council, Ali Larijani. He is considered one of the architects of the brutal suppression of demonstrators in Iran. In the conversation, he reaffirmed Qatar’s support for “all efforts to reduce tensions in the region,” his ministry said. (afp)