Khamenei threatens wider war if US launches strikes
By the AFREEQUE newsroom, based on Vanguard
Iranian Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei warns that the conflict in the Middle East would spread if the United States resumed its strikes against Iran. He rejects the idea that the Republican defeat in the midterm elections could change US policy, according to a written statement published on Wednesday.
Iranian Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei warned on Wednesday that the war in the Middle East would spread if the United States resumed its strikes against Iran, Vanguard reports. He also rejected the idea that the US midterm elections could change Washington’s policy towards Tehran.
In a written statement, Khamenei said that changes in the political majority in the United States would not end American hostility towards Iran. He has not appeared in public since taking power in March, after his father was killed in US and Israeli strikes.
US President Donald Trump recently mentioned a resumption of the war, while Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made similar remarks. On Tuesday, the United States struck Qeshm Island in the Strait of Hormuz. Iranian state media reported five explosions. Trump said the target was a recently completed air-defence facility.
The Republicans’ electoral defeat means they have lost control of Congress, but Trump retains the power to order strikes. Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said US voters had voted against the war. Iran’s head of the judiciary, Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei, also welcomed the election result.
The threat comes after US strikes on Qeshm Island, reported on 3 November in the US attack in Iran before the midterm elections. On 4 November, Tehran had already reacted to the Republican defeat and raised the risk of further strikes in its response to the midterm results.
