The United States must choose between Iranian diplomacy and Iranian missiles. This was stated by Ebrahim Rezaei, a member of the National Security and Foreign Policy Committee of the Iranian Parliament.
“The Americans must either surrender to our diplomats or to Iranian missiles“, Rezaei said, quoted by Iran International. According to him, Tehran has no other proposal to Washington and will not back down from its conditions for a possible agreement.
Rezaei defined the Islamic Republic's position towards the US as “extremely clear“ and stated that Iran's resistance will continue. His statement came amid ongoing tensions between the two countries and parallel signals from Tehran of readiness for both diplomatic contacts and a military response.
In a separate interview, the lawmaker said that Iran's defense capabilities have improved significantly since the start of the war on February 28. He added that the country has "surprises" in both the defensive and offensive spheres. These assessments are Rezaei's statements and are not accompanied by independently presented technical data.
The Iranian lawmaker also said that Tehran does not tie its decisions to the US elections and is preparing for "worst-case scenarios". According to him, if a new war breaks out, Iran will strike more devastating blows against the enemy.
At the moment, the statement represents the position of a member of the Iranian parliament, and not the announcement of a new interstate agreement or an official decision to start military action. Further developments will depend on whether Washington and Tehran will resume negotiations and whether they will find an acceptable formula for the terms of a possible deal.
Sources: Iran International, ISNA