The President of the Parliament of Iran, Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, stated this Thursday, 2, that 7 million Iranians were ready to fight against any US land invasion in the Persian country.
Qalibaf, mentioned as a possible negotiating partner with the US, has posted a series of messages on social media challenging the United States since the start of the war.
“Right now, in less than a week, a powerful national campaign sweeping the country has brought to light some 7 million Iranians who have already come forward and declared their readiness to take up arms and defend our nation,” Qalibaf said on the X social network.
This statement has been circulating on social media for days. Qalibaf is the first high-ranking official to mention it in Iran, a nation of about 90 million people.
It’s unclear where that number comes from, but state media and text message campaigns have been encouraging people to volunteer. The government has also called on retired soldiers to express an interest in fighting, while the Revolutionary Guard’s Basij volunteer paramilitary force has begun accepting children as young as 12 into its military commands.
Trump speech
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Qalibaf’s statements come after the speech of the President of the United States, Donald Trump, on Wednesday, 1.
In a 19-minute address at the White House, Trump said Iran’s missile and drone systems have been “dramatically reduced and its weapons factories and rocket launchers are being destroyed.”
Although the US and Israeli militaries have severely hit Iran’s ballistic missile program, Tehran continues to fire missiles at Tel-Aviv and several Arab countries in the region that have American bases.
Hours after the speech, Iran’s Revolutionary Guard declared that the American and Israeli strikes did not decimate the country’s missile production centers, long-range drones, air defense systems or electronic warfare systems. The United States and Israel “know nothing about our vast and strategic capabilities,” the Guard said in a statement.
In addition to the Revolutionary Guard’s statements, Iran also launched new missile attacks against Tel-Aviv and the Gulf States on Thursday morning, 2. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said they intercepted Tehran’s missiles and authorities in the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia also reported several interceptions of missiles and drones. (With information from the Associated Press)
