Pres. Donald Trump (Photo: Jim Watson/AFP)
Pres. Donald Trump said the US would “totally destroy” Iran if it tried or succeeded in assassinating the sitting president.
“A thousand missiles are ready, loaded and aimed at the Islamic Republic of Iran, with thousands more to follow immediately, should the Iranian government carry out its threat to assassinate, or attempt to assassinate, the sitting President of the United States,” Trump wrote on his social media platform Truth Social.
“Orders have already been given, and the US military is ready, willing and able to completely cut off and destroy all areas of Iran for a period of one year, subject to extension,” he said.
(Photo: Screenshot/Truth Social)
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However, Iran insisted on Saturday that it had “kept its word” regarding the ceasefire with the US, after Trump insisted that the ceasefire was over but that he had agreed to further negotiations with Iran.
Although there have been no direct talks between Iran and the US since last month, Iranian media reported that a delegation from Qatar is in Tehran.
“The Islamic Republic of Iran asked us to continue ‘talks.’ We agreed to do so, but the US told them in no uncertain terms that the ceasefire was over,” Trump said.
Minister Abbas Araghchi van Iran. (Photo: ATTA KENARE / AFP
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi hit back on Saturday, insisting that Tehran “so far has kept its word, unlike the so-called US Treasury Secretary who violated paragraph nine of the memorandum of understanding”.
This paragraph refers to Iran “maintaining the current status quo of its nuclear program” and that the US “will not impose new sanctions and deploy additional forces in the region”, pending a final agreement.
“That violation follows other violations and mistakes by the US,” Araghchi added.
The US has reportedly given Iran only until Saturday to stop attacks on commercial ships in the Strait of Hormuz and confirm that the strait is open.
Iran insists it controls the Strait of Hormuz, which includes Iranian and Omani territorial waters, and has said it wants to charge tolls for ships passing through it.
Although the strait includes Omani and Iranian territorial waters, under international law the two generally cannot block passage or levy tolls.
In the past week, the US launched extensive attacks on Iran after attacks on ships in the strait, which triggered a wave of retaliation against US bases in the Gulf.
The US Treasury Department also revoked a temporary sanctions waiver for Iranian oil and canceled a license announced in June that allowed Iran to produce, sell and deliver crude oil and related products until August 21.
Araghchi will travel to Oman on Saturday for talks on the strait, the official IRNA news agency said.