‘We will neither be surprised nor remain passive’: Iran responds to US military threats

Tehran: Iranian Acting Defence Minister Seyed Majid Ebn Al-Reza stated on Sunday that Tehran treats every hostile threat as "real and noteworthy," dismissing any suggestion that such warnings amount to mere psychological posturing.

"We will neither be surprised nor remain passive. We use threats as a basis to increase our preparedness, strengthen our deterrence, and develop our power," Al-Reza posted on X following remarks by US President Donald Trump indicating he had agreed to suspend new military strikes against Iran, according to Xinhua News Agency.

Writing on Truth Social, Trump asserted that the United States was "locked and loaded and ready to go against the Islamic Republic of Iran, at levels of Military Terror, Strength, and Power not seen since World War II," but stood down after being "asked by Iran, and other Middle Eastern Countries," pointing towards an impending agreement expected to guarantee the "Immediate, Complete, and Total OPENING OF THE HORMUZ STRAIT, and an end to Iran's nuclear threat."

Prior American media coverage had indicated that joint US and Israeli raids targeting Iranian energy installations might commence over the weekend.

Israel's Channel 12 broadcast on Sunday that Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi had accepted a compromise arrangement facilitated by Qatar and the United States, permitting vessels to enter the Persian Gulf via Iranian-administered waters and depart through Omani jurisdiction.

Nonetheless, Iran's semi-official Fars news agency, referencing an insider close to the Iranian delegation, swiftly dismissed the report.

Fars further cited a military source who declared that whilst American "hostile and malicious acts" persist, the Strait of Hormuz will stay shut, with merchant shipping authorised to pass solely along Iranian-prescribed corridors under the direct oversight and consent of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy.

The military insider cautioned that alternative pathways remain hazardous, emphasising that Tehran's strategic posture regarding the vital shipping lane has undergone no alteration.

IANS