‘Security a red line’: Iran vows ‘decisive’ response to intensified threats

TEHRAN: Iran’s Defense Council has condemned escalating threats, rhetoric and meddlesome remarks – particularly on the part of the United States – against Iran, warning that any attack on the country’s security, independence, or territorial integrity will trigger a proportionate and decisive response.

In a statement on Tuesday, the Defense Council denounced intensified threats and rhetoric against Tehran, stressing that the Islamic Republic’s security, independence, and territorial integrity are absolute red lines and that any aggression or continuation of hostile behavior would be met with a firm response.

“By repeating and intensifying threatening rhetoric and meddlesome remarks, and in clear contravention of the accepted principles of international law, the long-standing enemies of this land, who have repeatedly and explicitly assumed responsibility for the killing of Iranian women and children, are pursuing a purposeful approach aimed at the disintegration of Iran and inflicting damage on the country’s very foundations; a path that is not merely the manifestation  of political positions, but part of a pattern of pressure and intimidation, and which cannot be regarded as unanswered, cost-free, or outside current equations.”

The statement comes as a clear response to US President Donald Trump, who in meddling remarks just recently, threatened Iran in a social media post and again during a brief interview, saying the US would support those spreading insecurity and causing possible riot, and that he would come to save them.

Protests erupted last week after shopkeepers in Tehran temporarily closed their businesses to protest the sharp fall of the national currency, which plunged to record lows against the US dollar.

Iranian officials have acknowledged the economic pressure facing the public and said peaceful protests are legitimate. At the same time, they have warned that foreign-backed elements are seeking to exploit the situation and fuel violence.

Furthermore, Iran’s Judiciary chief, for his part, has already warned that the United States and Israel have openly “supported insecurity” in the Islamic Republic, adding that “rioters” taking advantage of the economic protests will be dealt with firmly and without leniency.

“While relying on national cohesion, comprehensive deterrent capabilities, and full defensive readiness, the Islamic Republic of Iran once again affirms that the country’s security, independence, and territorial integrity are an inviolable red line,” the council said.

“Any act of aggression against national interests, interference in domestic affairs, or action against Iran’s stability will be met with a proportionate, targeted, and decisive reaction. Within the framework of legitimate defense, the Islamic Republic of Iran does not confine itself to responding only after an action has occurred, and it considers tangible signs of threat as part of the security equation,” the statement stressed.

In conclusion, the Iranian Defense Council, established following the 12-day Iran-Israel war in June, emphasized that threats and interference amount to hostile conduct, warning that continued pursuit of such a path would bring about significant consequences for which the initiators would bear full responsibility.

“The escalation of threatening and meddlesome rhetoric, which goes beyond a mere verbal stance, can be understood as hostile behavior; a path whose continuation will entail a proportionate, firm, and decisive response, and full responsibility for the consequences will rest with the architects of this process,” the statement further read.