A top commander in Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps threatened US forces in the region on Monday, the latest in a series of escalatory remarks as President Donald Trump seeks to push the country toward a new nuclear deal.
The head of the IRGC aerospace force, Brig. Gen. Amir Ali Hajizadeh, made the comments during the Eid al-Fitr prayer in Tehran.
“The Americans have at least 10 bases around Iran in the region, which accommodate some 50,000 forces. This means they are sitting inside a glass room,” said Hajizadeh, the IRGC-affiliated Tasnim news agency reported.
The United States has around 40,000 troops deployed in the Middle East at bases in Iraq, Syria, Qatar, Bahrain and other countries in the region, The New York Times reported last September.
On Sunday, Trump vowed to bomb Iran and place “secondary tariffs” on the country if it does not agree to a new nuclear deal.
“If they don’t make a deal, there will be bombing. It will be bombing the likes of which they have never seen before,” Trump told NBC News.
Hajizadeh’s comments were in response to Trump’s remarks, according to Tasnim.
Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said on Monday that the United States and Israel would “certainly receive a heavy blow in return” if they were to strike Iran. The Iranian Foreign Ministry summoned the charge d’affaires of the Swiss Embassy in Tehran on Monday to complain about Trump’s comments, the official Islamic Republic News Agency reported.
The United States and Iran do not have formal diplomatic relations, and Switzerland represents the US government in the country.
On Sunday, the pro-government Tehran Times claimed that the Iranian armed forces have readied missiles with the “capability to strike US-related positions” in response to Trump’s remarks.
Why it matters: Iran received a letter from Trump in mid-March. The contents have not been made public, though Trump has said it included pleas for Iran to negotiate. Iran first responded to the letter on Thursday. Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Iran is open to "indirect talks" but will not directly negotiate under pressure.
"Our policy is still to not engage in direct negotiations while under maximum pressure and military threats. however, as it was the case in the past, indirect negotiations can continue," said Araghchi, per the Islamic Republic News Agency.
Iran insists its nuclear energy program is for peaceful purposes, though the US, Israel, and others have accused Tehran of seeking to build a nuclear weapon. The International Atomic Energy Agency said in February that Iran has increased its production of near weapons-grade uranium.
Trump imposed additional sanctions on Iran in February, describing the measures as part of a strategy to deny Iran a nuclear weapon. The US president withdrew from the nuclear deal in 2018 and is now seeking a new agreement with Iran.
On Sunday, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said Iran is open to “indirect” talks and delivered a response to Trump’s letter via Oman.
“We responded to the US president’s letter via Oman and rejected the option of direct talks, but we are open to indirect negotiations,” said Pezeshkian during a cabinet session.
Trump has repeatedly called for Iran to negotiate since returning to office in January, adding that a deal would be preferable to “bombing.” Iran has largely dismissed Trump’s threats while holding a flurry of military drills and unveiling new weapons this year. Most recently, the IRGC unveiled a new “missile city.”
Know more: In a sign of rising tensions, the US deployed B-2 bombers to the Indian Ocean last week. The deployment followed the US sending B-52 bombers to the Middle East earlier in March.