A top commander in Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps threatened US forces in the region on Monday, marking the latest in a series of escalatory remarks as President Donald Trump seeks to pressure the country into a new nuclear deal.
The head of the IRGC aerospace force, Brig. Gen. Amir Ali Hajizadeh, made the comments during the Eid al-Fitr prayer in Tehran.
“The Americans have at least 10 bases around Iran in the region, which accommodate some 50,000 forces. This means they are sitting inside a glass room,” said Hajizadeh, the IRGC-affiliated Tasnim news agency reported.
The United States has around 40,000 troops deployed in the Middle East at bases in Iraq, Syria, Qatar, Bahrain and other countries in the region, The New York Times reported last September.
On Sunday, Trump vowed to bomb Iran and place “secondary tariffs” on the country if it does not agree to a new nuclear deal.
“If they don’t make a deal, there will be bombing. It will be bombing the likes of which they have never seen before,” Trump told NBC News.
Hajizadeh’s comments were in response to Trump’s remarks, according to Tasnim.
Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said on Monday that the United States and Israel would “certainly receive a heavy blow in return” if they were to strike Iran. The Iranian Foreign Ministry summoned the charge d’affaires of the Swiss Embassy in Tehran on Monday to complain about Trump’s comments, the official Islamic Republic News Agency reported.
The United States and Iran do not have formal diplomatic relations, and Switzerland represents the US government in the country.
On Sunday, the pro-government Tehran Times claimed that the Iranian armed forces have readied missiles with the “capability to strike US-related positions” in response to Trump’s remarks.
Why it matters: Iran received a letter from Trump in mid-March. The contents have not been made public, though Trump has said it included pleas for Iran to negotiate. Iran first responded to the letter on Thursday. Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Iran is open to
US says Syria’s transitional government a possible step forward
