IRAN has stated that the United States’ strike on its nuclear facilities has expanded the range of legitimate targets for its military and condemned President Donald Trump as a “gambler” for aligning with Israel’s military offensive against the Islamic Republic.
“Trump, the gambler, you may start this war, but we will be the ones to end it,” Ebrahim Zolfaqari, spokesperson for Iran’s Khatam al-Anbiya central military headquarters, said on Monday, June 23, at the end of a recorded video statement.
Iran made the announcement ahead of a scheduled meeting between its Foreign Minister, Abbas Araqchi, and Russian President, Vladimir Putin in Moscow today.
Speaking in Istanbul on Sunday, Abbas Araqchi stated that Iran would explore all possible responses and ruled out any return to diplomatic talks until it had carried out its retaliation.
The ICIR reports that while the Kremlin maintains a strategic partnership with Iran, it also has strong ties to Israel. Later, the TASS News Agency quoted Araqchi as saying that Iran and Russia were aligning their positions through coordination.
Since President Trump joined Israel’s offensive by launching massive bunker-buster bombs on Iranian nuclear sites early Sunday morning, Iran has issued repeated threats of retaliation.
Although Iran has continued launching missiles at Israel, it has so far refrained from directly targeting the United States, avoiding strikes on US bases or disrupting the 20 per cent of global oil shipments that pass near its shores at the mouth of the Gulf.
Iran and Israel exchanged a fresh round of air and missile strikes on Monday, as global tensions rose in anticipation of Tehran’s next move.
The Trump administration has consistently stated that its objective is to dismantle Iran’s nuclear programme, not to ignite a broader conflict.
However, in a social media post on Sunday, Trump openly discussed the possibility of overthrowing Iran’s hardline clerical leadership, which has remained a chief adversary of Washington since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
“It’s not politically correct to use the term, ‘Regime Change,’ but if the current Iranian Regime is unable to MAKE IRAN GREAT AGAIN, why wouldn’t there be a Regime change? MIGA!!!” he wrote.
Trump called the strike a “Bullseye!!!”. “Monumental Damage was done to all Nuclear sites in Iran,” he wrote. “The biggest damage took place far below ground level.”
Experts analysing commercial satellite imagery said the US strike appeared to have caused significant damage to Iran’s Fordow nuclear facility, which is built deep inside a mountain. They suggested the attack may have destroyed the site along with the uranium-enriching centrifuges inside.
Since Israel’s surprise attack on June 13, which killed several of Iran’s top commanders, its airstrikes on Iranian targets have faced minimal resistance from Iranian air defenses.
The Israeli military said on Monday that about 20 jets had conducted a wave of strikes against military targets in Kermanshah, western Iran, and Tehran overnight.
Nanji is an investigative journalist with the ICIR. She has years of experience in reporting and broadcasting human angle stories, gender inequalities, minority stories, and human rights issues.