Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said that his country won't surrender to Israel after US President Donald Trump called for the Islamic Republic's capitulation amid growing speculation that Washington could enter the conflict.
“The Americans should know that the Iranian nation is not one to surrender,” Khamenei said in a statement published on his official website, Khamenei.ir. He warned that if the US joined Israel's military offensive, it would see “irreparable damage.”
Khamenei also said that he opposed an “imposed peace,” suggesting that he would not engage in any US or Israel-led efforts to force Iran into accepting a ceasefire.
Khamenei's latest comments, which were originally scheduled to be televised, come a day after Trump said in social media posts that he knows where Khamenei is “hiding” and also called for Iran's surrender.
Overnight on Tuesday, Trump and his national security team had a meeting that lasted more than hour, according to people familiar with the matter, amid speculation that the US may join Israel's military action. Trump spoke with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu afterward, a White House official said. No further official comments were made.
Israel started its military strike on Iran last Friday and has hit scores of targets in residential and commercial areas of the capital Tehran as well as nuclear facilities, gas fields and oil refineries.
In response Iran has fired hundreds of missiles at Israel, most of them targeting Tel Aviv. So far, at least 224 Iranians have been killed by Israel's attacks and 24 Israelis have been killed by Iran's strikes, according to government figures from both countries.
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