Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Al Khamenei warned on Sunday that any US attack on his country would lead to a “regional war,” comments that come amid threats of a US attack on the Islamic Republic as the US military is building up its forces in the region.
“The Americans should know that if they start a war this time, it will be a regional war,” Khamenei said, according to Iran’s PressTV. “We are not the ones who start [a war], and we do not want to attack any country, but the Iranian nation will deliver a hard punch to anyone who attacks and harasses it.”
When asked about Khamenei’s remarks, President Trump told reporters, “Of course he is going to say that,” and added that he hopes the US and Iran can “make a deal.” But it’s unlikely Tehran would agree to Washington’s current demands, which include limits on Iran’s ballistic missiles, a condition Iranian officials have made clear is a non-starter.
Trump also used previous negotiations with Tehran as a cover to launch the 12-day US-Israeli war against Iran, writing on Truth Social that he was committed to a diplomatic solution just hours before Israeli airstrikes started hitting the country. Despite Trump’s earlier deception, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has spoken optimistically about reaching a deal with the US.
Araghchi told CNN on Sunday that he was “confident that we can achieve a deal” and said there were messages being sent between the US and Iran through mediators that were “fruitful,” though he said that Tehran had lost trust in the US as a “negotiating partner.”
The US could be looking to buy more time before bombing Iran, as it’s positioning additional military assets in the region to prepare for the defense of US bases and Israel from Iranian missiles. According to a report published by The Wall Street Journal on Sunday, the US is deploying an additional THAAD battery and Patriot air defenses to bases where US troops are stationed across the Middle East, including Jordan, Kuwait, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar.
US sources told the Journal that the US military could conduct limited airstrikes on Iran if the president were to order an attack today, but the kind of decisive attack that Trump has asked the military to prepare would likely prompt a proportional response from Iran, requiring more air defenses to be in place. The report said US strikes aren’t imminent since an attack won’t come until more US firepower arrives in the region.
