Amid the ongoing tensions in the Middle East, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on Wednesday warned the United States, saying it should “leave” the Persian Gulf region for its safety. Vowing retaliation against the US attacks, Araghchi said that the Iranian armed forces would respond to any attack or threat and will leave no threat “unanswered”.
Taking to X, Araghchi wrote, “Despite its defeats on the battlefield, the US opted to test our determination. Our Powerful Armed Forces will leave no attack or threat unanswered,” he said.
“Leave our region if you want to be safe. History of the Persian Gulf has many chapters on dire fates of intruding outsiders,” he added.
US Strikes Iran
The Iran Foreign Minister’s reaction came after US Central Command (CENTCOM) said American forces have begun launching self-defence strikes against Iran in response to what it described as “unjustified Iranian aggression” following the downing of a US Army Apache helicopter.
CENTCOM said the strikes were carried out at the direction of the Commander in Chief as a “proportional response” to the incident.
In a post on X on Tuesday, the official account of US Central Command shared, “US Central Command (CENTCOM) forces began launching self-defence strikes against Iran at 5 pm ET today at the Commander in Chief’s direction, in response to yesterday’s downing of a US Army Apache helicopter. The mission is a proportional response to unjustified Iranian aggression.”
Earlier, US President Donald Trump said that an Iranian strike claimed to have downed a US Apache helicopter patrolling over the Strait of Hormuz.
In a post on Truth Social, the US president wrote, “I have just been informed by our Great Military that last night the Iranians shot down one of our highly sophisticated Apache Helicopters while patrolling over the Strait of Hormuz. There were two pilots involved, both are safe and uninjured. Nevertheless, the United States must, of necessity, respond to this attack. Thank you for your attention to this matter! President DONALD J. TRUMP”
(With agency inputs)