Iran warned on Wednesday that if the United States joins Israel’s conflict with Iran, it will result in an “all-out war” in the Middle East region.
In a Wednesday interview with Al Jazeera, Esmail Baghaei, an Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman, said, “Any American intervention would be a recipe for an all-out war in the region.”
“We have very good relations with Arab countries, and they are very cognizant of the fact that Israel has been trying to drag others into the war,” Baghaei added. “We are sure our Arab countries hosting US bases would not allow their territory to be used against their Muslim neighbors.”
Fox News reported that while Baghaei did not explain what Iran’s retaliation or an all-out war in the Middle East region would look like, thousands of U.S. military troops are currently deployed in countries that are in the range of Iran’s weapons.
Asked about the situation in the Middle East on Wednesday, Trump told reporters, “Well, I don’t know how much longer it’s going to go on. They’re totally defenseless. They have no air defense whatsoever. Totally captured. You know we’ve totally captured the air, right?”
READ MORE: Videos: Trump warns ‘everyone’ to ‘immediately evacuate Tehran’
The 47th president told reporters that he is demanding that Iran accept an “unconditional surrender,” adding, “For 40 years they’ve been saying death to America, death to Israel, that to anybody else that they didn’t like. They were bullies. They were schoolyard bullies. And now they’re not bullies anymore. But we’ll see what happens. Look, nothing’s finished until it’s finished. You know, war is very complex.”
In response to Trump’s Truth Social post on Tuesday regarding Iran’s “UNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER,” Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei tweeted, “The US President threatens us. With his absurd rhetoric, he demands that the Iranian people surrender to him. They should make threats against those who are afraid of being threatened. The Iranian nation isn’t frightened by such threats.”
According to Al Jazeera, in a speech on Iran’s state television, Khamenei emphasized that Iran “will never surrender” and warned that the United States “should know that any military intervention will undoubtedly result in irreparable damage.”
Al Jazeera reported that Iranian Ambassador to the United Nations Ali Bahreinei also told reporters that the Iranian government will “not show any reluctance” in defending the people, land, and security of Iran. Bahreini added, “We will respond seriously and strongly without restraint.”
