Tehran [Iran], May 19 : Senior Advisor of Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Seyyed Mojtaba Khamenei, Mohsen Rezaee, has warned US President Donald Trump over the latter's repeated threats of attack, stating that the "iron fist of Iran's armed forces will force the US to retreat and surrender."
Taking shots at Trump over the US President's claim of "putting off" a planned attack on Iran, Mohsen Rezaee pointed out the indecisive nature of the US President and stated that he has a "vain hope" of making Iran surrender.
"He sets a deadline for a military strike and then cancels it himself! With this vain hope of making the Iranian nation and officials surrender! The iron fist of the powerful armed forces and the great Iranian nation will force them to retreat and surrender," Rezaee said in a post on X.
Trump on Monday said that he has "put off" a planned attack on Iran for a short period amid "big discussions" with the country over the ongoing West Asia crisis.
Addressing reporters, Trump said that Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and some other countries had requested the US to delay the action for a few days as they believed negotiations were close to yielding a deal.
"I put it (attack on Iran) off for a little while, hopefully maybe forever, but possibly for a little while because we've had very big discussions with Iran, and we'll see what they amount to. I was asked by Saudi Arabia, Qatar, UAE and some others if we could put it off for two or three days, a short period of time, because they think that they are getting very close to making a deal...It's a very positive development, but we'll see whether or not it amounts to anything," said Trump.
He further stated that multiple countries were directly engaging with US officials and Iran in an effort to resolve the situation diplomatically. "I was called by these three countries, plus others, and they're dealing directly with our people and right now, Iran. There seems to be a very good chance that they can work something out. If we can do that without bombing the hell out of them, I will be very happy," said Trump.
Earlier, President Trump turned down Iran's peace proposal to stop the ongoing West Asia crisis, saying that it falls short of expectations and does not represent any meaningful progress towards a deal, according to Axios, citing a senior US official and a source briefed on the matter.
The development comes at a sensitive moment, with Washington weighing both diplomatic and military options as tensions over Iran's nuclear programme continue to escalate. US officials say President Donald Trump is still seeking a negotiated settlement but is increasingly frustrated by Tehran's refusal to accept what Washington considers essential concessions.
Iran's latest counter-proposal was reportedly delivered on Sunday night through Pakistani mediators. According to a senior US official quoted by Axios, the revised text contains only limited changes compared to previous submissions.
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