Iran’s representative at the United Nations is vowing a “proportionate” response if President Donald Trump follows through on his threats to destroy the country’s power plants.
At a Security Council session on the Strait of Hormuz blockade, Amir-Saeid Iravani, Tehran’s representative at the U.N., decried Trump’s Truth Social post saying a “whole civilization will die” if Iran doesn’t strike a deal, “constitute incitement to war crimes and potentially genocide.” He then warned of major consequences if the threat was carried out.
“Iran will not stand idle in the face of such egregious war crimes. It will exercise, without hesitation, its inherent right of self-defense and will take immediate and proportionate reciprocal measures,” he said.
Iravani also showed no sign that Tehran would bend to Trump’s demand to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, denouncing the Security Council’s resolution on the matter as “entirely one-sided, biased and indefensible.”
“It distort[s] the realities on the ground by falsely attributing responsibility to Iran, the victim of the aggression, while deliberately ignoring the root causes of the current crisis,” he said, defending the blockade as having “been taken in the exercise of [the country’s] inherent right of self-defense.”
Meanwhile, negotiations seem to have hit a standstill. Iravani said Tehran rejected a ceasefire and will only accept a complete end to the war, along with guarantees that another war won’t be forthcoming.
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has also amped up its rhetoric. In a message to mobile subscribers in Iran, it vowed to “do something to deprive America and its allies of oil and gas in the region for years.”
“America’s regional partners should also know that until today we have shown great restraint for the sake of good neighborliness, but since then all these considerations have been lifted,” they wrote.
Trump’s threat that “A whole civilization will die tonight” if a deal isn’t reached seemed to have turned Iranians away from negotiations, at least temporarily. Earlier in the day, it was reported that they cut off all diplomatic contact with the U.S., and they claimed to be “winning” and have thousands of missiles still ready in their arsenal.
The president was also pessimistic about reaching a diplomatic agreement, telling Fox News host Brett Baier, “8 p.m. is happening,” referring to his deadline.
STRIKES ON IRAN’S POWER PLANTS WOULD DEAL SIGNIFICANT DAMAGE TO REGIONAL POWER GRIDS
“If we get to that point, there is going to be an attack like they have not seen,” Trump said.
Hours later, however, there seemed to be some movement, with the Pakistani Prime Minister asking Trump to extend the deadline for two weeks, in exchange for Iran allowing ships through the Strait of Hormuz during the same period.