Iran Speaker: Ball in US court to prevent war
Shafaq News- Tehran
Iran has delivered a "strong and rational response" to Washington, and the ball is now in the United States' court to prevent war, Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said on Tuesday.
Addressing parliament, Ghalibaf warned that Iran's military response to "any enemy miscalculation would be unpredictable" and extend beyond geographical boundaries, citing a strategy set by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei. He added that Iranian forces were at their highest level of defensive readiness and that any further US strategic mistake would expose Washington to a new battlefield.
Meanwhile, a senior Iranian official told Reuters that Tehran and Washington remained far from an agreement to end the war, despite intensified mediation. The official said Qatari mediators had traveled to Tehran on Nov. 2 to discuss a draft agreement, but Iran would not accept Washington's "excessive demands." Tehran's conditions must be met before the Strait of Hormuz could reopen, with nuclear negotiations to follow, the official added.
US officials said American forces carried out limited strikes on Iran's Qeshm Island near the Strait of Hormuz overnight, describing them as defensive measures against Iranian surface-to-air missile systems that threatened US assets. Iranian media confirmed several explosions on the island, while the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) claimed to have shot down a US MQ-9 drone and captured two MQM-170 drones in separate operations near the strait.
US President Donald Trump raised the possibility of attacking Iran's suspected nuclear site at Pickaxe Mountain in an interview with Fox News, arguing that Tehran was in a weak negotiating position. He said an agreement remained possible but did not rule out renewed military action if negotiations failed.
Iranian state television on Tuesday broadcast guidance on how to respond to a nuclear explosion, advising citizens to take precautions against blast waves and radioactive contamination and remain in safe locations for at least 24 hours.
