The Iranian Revolutionary Guard said this Monday, 2, that the United States “will not be safe anywhere in the world”. The statement was made on the third day of a war in which Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was killed.
The Quds Force, an elite military unit in charge of foreign operations, warned, in a statement broadcast on state TV, that it will not rest “until the enemy is defeated” and that ‘they will no longer be safe anywhere in the world, not even in their own homes’.
Earlier, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said his country would not remain “silent” after reporting “attacks” against a school and a hospital, attributed to Israeli-American bombings.
“Attacks against hospitals attack life itself. Attacks against schools attack the future of the nation (…) The world must condemn these acts”, wrote Pezeshkian.
“Iran will not remain silent and will not give in to these crimes,” he added. Iran says a bombing on Saturday killed 168 people at a school in the south of the country, but neither the United States nor Israel have confirmed the attack, which AFP was unable to verify because it did not have access to the site. In Tehran, a hospital was damaged on Sunday.
Conflict spreads
The United States gave indications this Monday afternoon that it will increase its military involvement in the war against Iran. At the White House, President Donald Trump stated that a large wave of attacks against Tehran is coming. In a separate interview with the New York Post, the Republican also stated that he is ‘not afraid’ of sending troops to Iran.
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In a press conference at the Pentagon, United States Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth and General Dan Caine, chief of staff of the American Armed Forces, said they will increase the number of fighter jets operating in Operation Epic Fury.
This Monday, the conflict spread to other countries in the region after Israel and the Shiite militia Hezbollah, an ally of Tehran, exchanged attacks. The Persian country also launched drone bombings against targets in several countries in the region, such as Kuwait, Qatar and Saudi Arabia.
Also on Monday, Iran’s Security Chief, Ali Larijani, stated that the country will not negotiate with the United States.
“This was our chance to strike and that’s what we’re doing now. This sick, sinister regime. We’re going to destroy Iran’s missile capabilities,” Trump said during a ceremony honoring the four American soldiers killed in the conflict.
At the Pentagon, Hegseth declared that American military objectives consist of destroying Iran’s ability to launch ballistic and naval attacks against Israelis and American assets in the Middle East.
Another goal is to definitively destroy the Persian nuclear program. Last year, the US and Israel launched air strikes against Iranian nuclear plants with the same objective, which ended up not being achieved.
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Four to five weeks – or more
During the press conference, the American president classified Iran as “the main sponsor of terrorism in the world”. “Today we cry for the four soldiers who died during the action. In their memory we continue this action, with our resilience to deal with the threat from this regime”, he added.
Trump also said he estimates that the war should last four to five weeks, but stated that American troops have the capacity to fight for longer. According to him, planning provided for up to four weeks to eliminate the Iranian military leadership, but the objective was achieved “in just one hour”.
According to the Republican, the US will take “as long as necessary” to end the conflict, but it will “easily” win the war.
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‘Big wave’ is coming
Before the ceremony, in a nine-minute phone conversation with host Jake Tapper, CNNTrump said the US is “giving Iran a beating.” “We haven’t even started hitting them hard yet. The big wave hasn’t even arrived yet. The big wave is coming soon,” he said.
“I think it’s going very well. We have the best armed forces in the world and we are using them,” he added.
Trump also said that the US will promote actions to help the Iranian people regain control of the country, but that, for now, everyone must remain at home. “It’s not safe out there”
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According to the president, “the biggest surprise” since the start of the conflict, on Saturday the 28th, were Iran’s attacks against Arab countries in the region: Bahrain, Jordan, Kuwait, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.
“We were surprised,” Trump said. “We told them, ‘We resolved this,’ and now they want to fight. And they’re fighting aggressively. They were going to get very little involved, and now they insist on getting involved.”
