Iran’s Guards reject EU designation, warn it will hinder cooperation

US President Donald Trump is giving Iran time to step back from confrontation but will not remain patient indefinitely, Washington’s ambassador to NATO said, as the United States maintains military pressure while signaling an opening for de-escalation.

Matthew Whitaker told Fox News that Trump has set clear limits for Tehran, saying Iran must not pursue a nuclear weapon and must stop killing protesters at home.

Whitaker said Iran could reduce tensions quickly if it chose to do so, but warned that Trump’s restraint had limits.

“The ball’s in their court, but President Trump is not going to be forever patient on this,” he said.

“President Trump is backing that up with this armada that is sitting off the coast of Iran and in the region,” Whitaker said. He described the deployment as an off-ramp, adding that Washington was “not asking for much.”

Iran’s parliament moved on Sunday to press for the expulsion of European military attaches from Tehran, after lawmakers said EU armed forces are “terrorist groups” in retaliation for Europe’s designation of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards.

Alireza Salimi, a member of parliament’s presiding board, told Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf that military representatives posted at European embassies in Iran should be expelled immediately.

Salimi said parliament had passed a law classifying European armies as terrorists and argued that allowing their attaches to remain in the country would violate Iranian law. He urged the foreign ministry to notify embassies without delay.

Ghalibaf responded by instructing parliament’s national security and foreign policy committees to pursue the matter with the foreign ministry.

Iran’s civil aviation chief said on Sunday that no new flight warnings have been issued and that all domestic and international flights are operating according to schedule.

Abouzar Shiroudi, head of the Civil Aviation Organization, said there was no new NOTAM, or flight warning, in place and that air traffic was continuing normally.

“All flights are currently operating normally,” Shiroudi said. He added that the total number of flights has declined due to lower market demand, not operational or security restrictions.

“America should know that if it starts a war, this time it will be a regional war,” Khamenei said, dismissing recent US threats as nothing new.

He said American officials have repeatedly talked about war in the past, citing aircraft carriers and planes while claiming “all options are on the table,” including military action.

Khamenei also took aim at US President Donald Trump, saying Trump frequently says the United States has brought in ships, but that Iranians should not be intimidated by such moves.

He said the Iranian people are not swayed by these threats and will not be frightened by US military posturing.

“We are not the ones to start anything and we do not want to attack any country, but the Iranian nation will deliver a strong punch to anyone who attacks and harasses it,” he said.

In the same remarks, Khamenei described the recent unrest in Iran as resembling a coup attempt.

“The recent sedition was similar to a coup,” he said, adding that it was suppressed.

He said the goal was to damage sensitive and effective centers of governance, alleging that attackers targeted police, government institutions, Revolutionary Guard centers, banks and mosques, and that they set the Quran on fire. “They attacked the centers that run the country.”

Iran armed forces’ readiness is higher than during 12-day war, said the deputy commander of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps on Sunday.

Ahmad Vahidi pointed to the US military movements in the region and said, “the enemies are trying to impose a war atmosphere, and this is part of their psychological operations."

He added that, “We must not fall into this trap, and the country’s activities must not be affected in any way by these operations.”

According to Vahidi, all enemy movements are completely under Iran’s control.