Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf declared on Sunday that Iran is prepared to meet any violation of its territorial integrity with a response “beyond the enemy’s imagination,” asserting that the country will not be intimidated by threats of all-out war or assassination.
“We will not be intimidated, and we are ready to deliver a response beyond the enemy’s imagination to any violation of the territorial integrity of our great Iran,” Qalibaf said, addressing the opening of a parliamentary session. “Threats of an all-out war or assassination will not force the Iranian nation to back down from its rights and interests,” he added.
Qalibaf argued that it was the United States that bogged itself down in a quagmire through its miscalculations and unprovoked war against Iran, and that it is now the Americans who must take the necessary steps to extricate themselves.
“Until the Americans change their behavior, abandon their bullying and rapacious ways, and make tangible, concrete, and genuine amends in practice for their violated commitments, none of their claims will carry even the slightest credibility for the Islamic Republic,” he stated. “Iran has nothing new to say.”
According to Qalibaf, the United States has failed to understand the fundamental difference between Iran today and the country under its former Washington-backed monarchical regime, when foreign powers exercised considerable influence over the country’s affairs.
“Today, our beloved Iran is not merely free from being a colony of Western and Eastern advisors; it is an independent and powerful regional force that has turned the prospect of the arrogant powers’ and [the forces of] Zionism’s once again dominating this nation’s destiny into a nightmare for good,” he said.
In his remarks, Qalibaf also marked the anniversary of a historic protest by the late founder of the Islamic Republic, Imam Khomeini, against a law passed by the former regime granting legal immunity from prosecution on Iranian soil to American military personnel and those related to them. He recalled Imam Khomeini’s denunciation of the former regime, saying the late leader characterized the measure as a testament to the enslavement of the Iranian people and a surrender of an ancient Muslim nation’s independence and dignity in exchange for American dollars.
Qalibaf noted that Imam Khomeini exposed how the regime would sacrifice Iran’s national interests and economic future to American and Israeli interests. According to the parliament speaker, the significance of Imam Khomeini’s opposition extended beyond the legislation itself, exposing the inseparable connection between the United States and the Israeli regime.
He argued that developments in the region and US pressure on Iran through sanctions, assassinations, and military and economic measures reflected the continuation of the same policy of pursuing domination. Qalibaf, however, reiterated that Iran is no longer a country whose national destiny can be dictated by foreigners.
Source: Iranian media (edite dby Al-Manar)