Iran’s foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, has warned that Tehran will “rain down hell” if the United States resumes attacks, serving Washington with an ultimatum in an attempt to end the two countries’ eight-month war. US President Donald Trump said on Sunday that renewed strikes on Iran are “highly unlikely” if negotiations progress over Tehran’s nuclear programme and the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz. Trump warned that US forces have three aircraft carriers stationed in the region “fully locked and loaded”, ready to continue strikes if need be.
He also said that the US has 38 bridges in Iran’s crosshairs that US forces “can knock down in literally one hour”. Iran’s Foreign Ministry also quoted Araghchi in an earlier statement on Sunday that said Iran would “not go easy on American targets” in the region. Araghchi’s statements came after reports by state media that an oil tanker caught fire earlier that morning after hitting a naval mine east of the Strait of Hormuz, citing Iran’s navy.
The navy claimed the ship’s identification systems were turned off and it was travelling in the no-go zone of the strait. An adviser to Iran’s commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ Aerospace Force made threats that echoed those of the Iranian foreign minister and said that weapons have been “secured for years to come”. The back-and-fourth between Iranian and US leaders comes following US midterm elections in which the Democratic Party won control of both chambers of Congress, soundly defeating Trump’s Republican Party.
Araghchi alleged that negotiations have been delayed as a result of the elections, but he awaits the path forward, Iranian state media reported.
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