Iran warns US it will “respond” if it uses “the language of force”

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi warned US President Donald Trump this Friday that Iran “will respond” in the same way to the US if it uses “the language of force”, while Washington continues to consider a military attack against Tehran.

“If you speak to the Iranian people with the language of respect, we respond with the same language. But if they speak to us with the language of force, we would respond with the same language. I believe that the Iranians have proven to be a very proud people. We only respond to the language of respect and this is the way they can speak to us, and they would see the result”, explained the Iranian diplomat in an interview on the ‘Morning Joe’ program.

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In the interview, the presenter, Joe Scarborough, urged the Iranian Foreign Minister to send a message to Trump. “Previous US administrations, including the current administration, have tried almost everything against us: a war, sanctions, the reinstatement of sanctions, everything. But none of that worked,” the diplomat replied. Araghchi stressed that both countries are talking “about how to ensure that Iran’s nuclear program, including enrichment, is peaceful and remains peaceful forever and, in return, Iran obtains the lifting of sanctions”. The minister denied that there was an “ultimatum” from the US regarding Iran’s counteroffer, despite reports of a two-week deadline, but insisted that what both sides wanted was a “quick” agreement in which both countries won. Trump told the press this Friday, at the beginning of a meeting with governors at the White House, that he was considering a “limited military strike” to pressure Iran towards an agreement on the Persian nation’s nuclear program. The U.S. has accelerated its military deployment in the Middle East, even after Washington and Tehran reported progress during talks in Switzerland on Iran’s nuclear enrichment program. For its part, Iran warned the UN yesterday that any US base from which they launch attacks would be considered a legitimate target.