Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian on Wednesday vowed to stand firm against any pressure or threat as US President Donald Trump threatened to attack Tehran “very hard”.
In a post on X, Pezeshkian said, “Iran, relying on the knowledge and capabilities of its specialists, national unity, and solidarity, will stand firm against any pressure or threat.”
“Critical infrastructures are the lifeblood of the people. Threats to target them-from transportation networks to the electricity and water industries-are not a show of strength but a sign of desperation in the face of a nation’s will,” he added.
Trump said that the US is going to attack Iran “very hard” if no peace deal is finalised, and announced that the United States has been taking oil out of Iran.
“We’re going to be attacking them, attacking them very hard,” Trump told reporters at the White House, citing Iran’s downing of an Apache helicopter in the Strait of Hormuz.
Trump also revealed that the US has been taking oil out of Iran.
“I’m just announcing today for the first time, but we’ve been taking out millions of barrels of oil, millions of barrels every night,” Trump said, adding that Iran “just figured it out.”
“Millions of barrels of oil has come out, and that’s why it’s at $85-90 a barrel, instead of $250,” Trump said, sharing no other details about these operations.
Trump said the US is still looking to make a deal.
“We want a deal that is meaningful, we want a deal that works,” Trump added about the negotiations with Iran.
Trump said that Iran has already agreed not to obtain a nuclear weapon, but the agreement still needs to be signed.
Trump, in an interview with Fox News, said he was getting close to ordering new strikes targeting Iran’s power plants and bridges if Tehran is unwilling to sign an agreement.
He said that Iran had a chance to sign a deal and survive and that he may keep going with more strikes given the slow pace of negotiations, according to the network.
Iran took ‘too long to negotiate a deal’, now ‘they will have to pay the price’: Trump
US President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that Iran will have to “pay the price” for taking “too long to negotiate a deal.”
In a post on Truth Social, Trump claimed that Iran’s military is a “complete and total mess,” and that their “Navy and Air Force doesn’t even exist anymore.”
“They have been completely defeated. Iran is all talk and no action. The Bully of the Middle East is DEAD!!!” He stated.
In a separate post on Truth Social following this one, he said that the US naval blockade on Iranian ships was “the most successful Blockade in the history of Naval Warfare.”
“NOTHING GETS THROUGH unless we want it to. IT IS A STEEL WALL! Iran is doing ZERO business, not paying their military, or any of their bills, and quickly becoming a FAILED NATION!”
He then said that lots of oil is getting out, ending the message with “Praise be to Allah!”
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said on Wednesday that Iran must move beyond the current “no war, no peace” situation, as efforts continue to revive negotiations with the United States amid heightened regional tensions.
“We must move beyond the state of neither war nor peace,” Pezeshkian said during an event in Tehran, as cited by the state news agency IRNA.
“War is certainly not in the country’s interest, but if they seek to violate our dignity, our land and our territory, we will not surrender,” he added.
“The enemy will only see our surrender in its dreams,” he said, adding that Iran would not be compelled to yield through threats or military action.