๐โ๐ ๐ผ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐กโ๐ ๐๐ ๐๐ก๐ก๐๐๐๐ ๐ผ๐๐๐ ๐๐ก ๐ค๐๐ข๐๐ ๐ ๐ข๐๐๐๐ ‘๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ โ๐๐๐’
by Dave DeCamp, Antiwar. com | Jun 18, 2025
Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Wednesday rejected President Trumpโs demand for an โunconditional surrenderโ and warned the US against entering the war by launching strikes on Iran, saying the US would suffer โirreparable harm.โ
Trump has also threatened Khamenei, claiming the US was aware of his location but wasnโt going to kill him for the time being. โ[Trump] has threatened us. Not only does he make threats, but he also uses absurd, unacceptable rhetoric to openly demand that the Iranian people surrender to him. When a person hears such things, itโs truly surprising,โ Khamenei said in a televised address.
โIt isnโt wise to tell the Iranian nation to surrender. Wise people who know Iran, the Iranian people, and Iranโs history would never utter such words. What should the Iranian nation surrender to? The Iranian nation isnโt a nation that surrenders. We havenโt attacked anyone, and we definitely wonโt tolerate anyone attacking us, and we will never surrender in response to the attacks of anyone,โ Khamenei said.
Khamenei during his televised address (photo via his website)
The US has supported Israelโs war on Iran by providing weapons and intelligence and by intercepting Iranian missiles and drones. So far, the US hasnโt launched direct airstrikes on Iran, but Trump is considering doing so, especially against the Fordow nuclear plant, which is buried deep underground.
โOf course, the Americans who are familiar with the policies of this region know that the US entering in this matter [war] is 100% to its own detriment,โ Khamenei said. โThe damage it will suffer will be far greater than any harm that Iran may encounter. The harm the US will suffer will definitely be irreparable if they enter this conflict militarily.โ
Iranian ballistic missiles are believed to be able to do significant damage to US bases in the region. Trump was asked on Wednesday if he would launch strikes on Iranโs nuclear program, but wouldnโt say. โI may do it. I may not do it. Nobody knows what Iโm going to do,โ he said.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu launched the war under the pretext of stopping Iran from advancing toward a nuclear bomb, but US intelligence agencies had assessed there was no evidence Tehran was working to make a nuclear weapon, and the US was unconvinced by new Israeli intelligence.
Israelโs attack also disrupted negotiations between the US and Iran. Trump said on Wednesday that Iran had asked for a meeting at the White House, but the claim was rejected by Tehran, as Iranian officials have said they wonโt negotiate while Israel continues its attacks.
โNo Iranian official has ever asked to grovel at the gates of the White House. The only thing more despicable than his lies is his cowardly threat to โtake outโ Iranโs Supreme Leader,โ Iranโs mission to the UN said. โIran does NOT negotiate under duress, shall NOT accept peace under duress, and certainly NOT with a has-been warmonger clinging to relevance.โ
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