Iranians must be ready to pay price of revenge against US, MP says
An Iranian lawmaker said on Wednesday that the public must be prepared to bear the costs of pursuing revenge against the US, warning that Iran’s infrastructure could be damaged.
“We want to break an idol that has oppressed people for years, consumed blood and shed blood,” said Salar Velayatmadar, a member of parliament’s national security committee. “This will have costs, and the people must be ready to pay them.”
He said the public should be told clearly about such costs, adding that, “Our infrastructure may be damaged, and we may face shortages in the society.”
"We're going to hit them very hard tonight," Trump said. "We're going to hit them hard tomorrow night. We're gonna hit them really hard the night after."
"Next week it gets really bad for them because next week comes the power plants," he said. "Next week comes the bridges. We're gonna knock out all their power plants. We're going to knock out all their bridges unless they get to the table and negotiate."
Trump said US representatives had recently spoken with Iranian negotiators but said Tehran had repeatedly broken agreements.
"They want to make a deal. But every time they make a deal, they break it," he said.
"You better make a deal. You're not going to have anybody left," Trump added, saying the United States was taking care to limit harm to civilians.
He also said Iran's military capabilities had been significantly weakened but retained some ability to fight back.
"They have some fight left, but they don't have much," he said.
Trump added that the United States could quickly strike a nuclear site outside Tehran where new activity had been reported.
"We can hit that one very easily," he said. "It only takes a matter of minutes for us to do it and do major damage."
Ground campaign and Kharg Island
Trump declined to say whether the United States could launch a ground campaign in Iran but suggested he would not rule out the option entirely.
"I don't want to say that either, but I would say no," he said when asked by Fox News whether he was ruling out a limited ground campaign. "Sometimes you need a ground campaign, but we have other people that will do the ground campaign for us."
Trump said US forces had already struck Iran's Kharg Island three times but had deliberately avoided its oil facilities.
"I said, 'Hit everything but the oil,'" he said. "Leave that little area. Don't touch the oil because I don't want that in terms of the world economy."
Asked whether the United States could seize the island, Trump said: "If we degrade them far enough and deep enough back, I would do that."
Hormuz policy
Trump said he had abandoned plans to impose a 20% fee on cargo transiting the Strait of Hormuz, saying countries in the region had instead agreed to make major investments in the United States.
"I was going to charge a fee, but instead they'd rather spend a lot of money in the United States," he said.
He said the United States had reinstated a naval blockade on Iranian shipping and that its objectives, including keeping the Strait of Hormuz open, had largely been achieved, although commercial traffic through the waterway has fallen sharply.
"I think they're completed now, honestly," Trump said of the military campaign. "If we left right now, it would take them 20 years to rebuild what they have."
Iranian retaliation vows
Trump's remarks came as Iranian officials and lawmakers stepped up calls for retaliation following US strikes and the killing of former Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.
About 180 lawmakers said on Tuesday that Iran should treat its memorandum of understanding with the United States as terminated after Trump declared the agreement over.
They pledged to pursue retaliation for Khamenei's killing and called for a special parliamentary committee to review negotiations with Washington.
The lawmakers also backed legislation on the management of the Strait of Hormuz and voiced support for Iran's armed forces.
Iran's army said on Wednesday it would deliver a "decisive response" after a US strike on a barracks in Bampur near Iranshahr killed seven military personnel.
"The retaliation for the blood of the martyrs of this crime is certain and imminent," the army said.
Calls for military action
Manouchehr Mottaki, a former Iranian foreign minister who is now a member of parliament, called for a ground assault on a US military base in the region.
"My proposal is that we launch a ground attack on one of the US bases in the region, capture 100 Americans and bring them to Iran," Mottaki said.
Another lawmaker, Shahrokh Ramin, criticized a parliamentary proposal titled "Revenge against Trump," saying genuine retaliation would not come through legislation.
"Someone who wants to take revenge does not turn it into a law," Ramin said. "If we are truly seeking revenge, we take revenge, and the way to do it is not through legislation."
