Iranian Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei on Saturday escalated his rhetoric against the United States after President Donald Trump teased a renewal of Washington’s war against Tehran following the midterm elections.
Khamenei said Iran’s military target list would be “updated comprehensively” to include “all physical and non-physical assets of the US-Zionist enemy are brought within the reach” of Iran. He expressed hope that a “political and security order in West Asia” is arising from the conflict, writing that the “new order will increasingly lay the groundwork for unity among Muslim nations and governments and the formation of the New Islamic Civilization,” in a statement to X.
Khamenei also vowed an “immediate, impactful, and geographically unrestricted response” to any threat, the same language Iran’s top general used the same day in his own statement.
“With all informational capacity, we monitor the enemy’s movements and preparations and update the target bank,” Major Gen. Ali Abdollahi, the chief of staff of the armed forces of Iran, said in a post to X. “Whenever signs of hostile enemy action are confirmed, the armed forces will not wait for the start of his action in choosing the time and manner of response.”
However, another senior Iranian official on Saturday appeared to leave the door open to peace talks, saying the regime examined a letter Vice President JD Vance recently sent to the country that Tehran suggested was aimed at reviving diplomatic negotiations. Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi told Al Jazeera there are no plans to meet with U.S. negotiators “at present” but said “mediators are continuing their consultations” regarding conditions for peace.
Araghchi also said Tehran is in the “second phase” of reviewing proposals on nuclear reforms from Qatar and Pakistan, which are helping the U.S. negotiate a deal as third-party mediators.
“The American side’s attempt to open the door to dialogue and understanding more broadly is a positive step,” Araghchi said of Vance’s letter, adding that Tehran “held high-level meetings” regarding the development.
The U.S. and Israel launched the war against Iran in February, citing concerns the country could develop nuclear weapons.
Trump has stood by the war despite energy upheavals caused by its effects on the Strait of Hormuz, arguing it is necessary to keep radical Islamic jihadists from controlling the planet’s most deadly weapon.
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Earlier this week, the president teased a resumption of strikes against Iran during a Texas rally, before saying Friday that the war with Iran “is going to be over very soon.”
“We’re knocking the hell out of them,” Trump said in an interview with Kansas City radio station KCMO. “We’re going to have a non-nuclear Iran. Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon, and they won’t have a nuclear weapon, and that’s going to end very soon.”