Air defense chief threatens strong retaliation for any attack

The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, added that Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei had placed Iran's armed forces on high alert.

Although US President Donald Trump has demanded direct negotiations, the official said Iran is open to a diplomatic path through intermediaries.

“Indirect talks offer a chance to evaluate Washington's seriousness about a political solution with Iran,” the official said. Talks via Oman could start soon if signals from the US align, though the official warned the path may be rocky.

Iran has issued formal warnings to Iraq, Kuwait, the UAE, Qatar, Bahrain and Turkey that allowing the US to use their airspace or territory during any attack would be treated as an act of hostility. Any such action “will have severe consequences for them,” the official said.

On Wednesday, Iranian state media reported that Kuwait had reassured Iran it would not permit aggression from its soil. Other governments approached by Reuters either declined to comment or did not respond. Turkey’s Foreign Ministry said it was unaware of any warning but suggested such messages could be delivered through alternative channels.

Meanwhile, Iran’s top military commander, Mohammad Bagheri, revealed the details of the Supreme Leader’s response to a letter sent by Trump on March 7.

“Negotiation directly is not acceptable, but indirect negotiation is not a problem,” Khamenei said in the message, according to Bagheri, the Chief of Staff of Iran's Armed Forces.

“You were the most disloyal and untrustworthy party in past negotiations, and thus there is no trust in you. However, we are not closing the door. If you act sincerely, negotiations can happen.”

According to Bagheri, Khamenei also told Trump that Iran is not pursuing a nuclear weapon. “We will respond with all our strength to any threats, but we are not warlike and will not start a war.”

Trump has warned Iran would be bombed if it did not agree to a new nuclear deal, prompting Khamenei to say on Monday that the Islamic Republic would deal a "strong blow" in retaliation for any attack.

Iran has also threatened to target American interests in the region, including its strategic Diego Garcia naval base in the Indian Ocean if it is attacked by the US.

The threats to neighbouring countries have escalated over recent months. In October, in the wake of Iran's attack on Israel which led to a retaliatory Israeli strike, The Wall Street Journal reported at the time that countries given warnings included Jordan, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Qatar, all of which host US forces.

It has since led to a complicating of regional dynamics. "US defense officials acknowledged that some regional partners have told the Pentagon that they don’t want Israeli warplanes flying over their territories or US troops launching offensive operations from inside or over their airspace," the WSJ reported.

"The Arab countries have said the US forces are allowed to conduct self-defense operations, the officials said," it added.

In a viral video circulating on social media last week, ultra-hardliner lawmaker Mohammad-Mannan Raisi blasted the Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) for its mid-September decision to halt the implementation of the proposed Hijab and Chastity Law.

The proposed law had been slammed globally for its draconian measures, the UN branding it "gender apartheid".

“The new hijab law marks an intensification of state control over women’s bodies in Iran and is a further assault on women’s rights and freedoms,” the UN said at the time.

Raisi argued that the clerical rule’s “solid core” supporters have endured severe economic hardship out of loyalty to the Islamic Republic, expecting it to uphold the Sharia law. However, by showing indifference to religious beliefs and values, he claimed, authorities are behaving like a secular government and eroding trust among their most devoted base.

“The solid core of the system will be disillusioned if you suspend God’s commandments and fail to implement them based on unjustified expediency,” Raisi warned, suggesting these loyalists could lose their motivation to defend those in power whom they hold responsible for enforcing the Sharia.

The decision of the Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) not to enforce the controversial law could not have been made without the approval of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, who has avoided discussing the issue in his speeches for months despite his firm stance in April 2023, declaring that disregarding hijab was “religiously and politically haram (forbidden).”

Authorities appear to be treading carefully, as enforcing the controversial law—punishing violators, including businesses, with hefty fines and prison sentences—could spark fresh anti-government protests.

Defiance of hijab rules has significantly grown among Iranian women since the violently suppressed 2022-2023 protests that followed the death of the 22-year-old Mahsa Amini in the custody of morality police.

The young woman was arrested for not wearing her hijab properly, leading to a tidal wave of opposition to the decades-long law.

Many women now refuse to wear the compulsory head covering, long tunics, and trousers as dictated by the country's Shariah law. They are also now often seen singing and dancing in public in defiance of the religious establishment.

The crackdowns, which led to more than 500 deaths of protesters at the hands of security forces during the initial uprising, and thousands more arrests, have seen Iran levied with global sanctions, which come in addition to sanctions for its nuclear program and support of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Sanctions have seen Iran land in its worst economic crisis since the founding of the Islamic Republic, at least one-third of the country now living below the poverty line, and Iran increasingly isolated on the world stage.

Raisi, who led hardliner Saeed Jalili’s campaign in Qom during June’s snap presidential election, is closely aligned with the ultra-conservative Paydari (Steadfastness) Party and its allies, including Jebhe-ye Sobh-e Iran (Iran Morning Front).

His remarks came just days after an unprecedented police crackdown on pro-hijab vigilantes who had camped outside the Iranian parliament for over 45 days. While no arrests were reported, religious vigilante groups claim police used excessive force—an unexpected turn for those who have long operated with impunity and, at times, direct security force backing.

Hossein Allahkaram, a spokesman for the pro-hijab protesters, condemned the police response and vowed that demonstrations would resume after the Iranian New Year holidays.

Vigilante groups have historically played a key role in suppressing opposition movements and even participated in high-profile attacks like the storming of the British embassy in 2011 and the Saudi embassy in 2016—both of which triggered diplomatic crises.

Raisi’s warning has ignited intense debate on social media, with critics, particularly supporters of Parliament Speaker Mohammad-Bagher Ghalibaf, accusing him of issuing veiled threats against the authorities.

So far, most expressions of frustration from vigilante groups are directed at top officials. However, there are also some highly veiled complaints over Khamenei's silence, or approval, of the relative leniency shown in the hijab matter on domestic social media platforms such as Eitaa, a popular forum among ultra-hardliners and their associates.

Their waning influence has not gone unnoticed by those opposing their interference in national governance.

Former IRGC commander turned reformist figure, Ghorbanali Salavatian, wrote in an X post, “They constantly call themselves the ‘solid core’ of the system, as if the country would collapse without them and as if they alone have protected it".

An Iranian lawmaker has called for the country to rapidly pursue the development of nuclear weapons as a means of deterring threats from the United States.

Mohammad Qasim Osmani said on Sunday that "avoiding military conflict is the condition of reason, but the excessive demands of global arrogance (the US) are such that no other path remains unless we possess the means to confront their bullying and overreach."

He argued that Iran's nuclear knowledge, acquired at significant cost, should be utilized to bolster national security and create a level playing field for negotiations.

"The only way is a swift and continuous move towards building nuclear weapons as a deterrent. Nuclear knowledge, with all the cost it has had for the country, must help everywhere, especially in security, so that today our nuclear knowledge should bring us to equal terms for negotiation."

Iran's response to Trump's letter emphasized that it seeks calm in the region, and that it is not pursuing nuclear weapons, according to the Chief of Staff of Iran's Armed Forces, Major General Bagheri.

According Bagheri, Iran's reply, formulated under the directives of the Supreme Leader, said that while Tehran is not seeking direct talks, it does not object to indirect negotiations as a potential path forward if the US acts sincerely.

"The leadership has authorized indirect negotiations because Iran doesn't close doors and keeps the option of indirect talks open, so that if you act in good faith, negotiations can happen."

Bagheri indicated that the letter conveyed Iran's stance as a non-belligerent nation that will, however, firmly resist bullying and aggression, warning that any infringement on Iran's territory or interests would face a decisive and irreparable response. "Khamenei's instructions are clear: we won't initiate conflict, but we will respond to any threat with our full strength."

Iran is pushing back against US demands for direct negotiations over its nuclear program, warning neighboring countries that host US bases they could become targets if they support any potential attack, a senior Iranian official told Reuters on Saturday.

Tehran has notified Iraq, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Turkey, and Bahrain that any assistance to a US attack, including allowing the use of their airspace or territory, would be considered a hostile act. Such an act "will have severe consequences for them," the official said.

While rejecting direct talks with US President Donald Trump, Iran seeks to continue indirect negotiations through Oman, a long-established communication channel between the two adversaries, the official said.

"Indirect talks offer a chance to evaluate Washington's seriousness about a political solution with Iran," added the official.

The official added that Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei has placed Iran's armed forces on high alert.

However, the official believed a deal needed to be reached within roughly two months, fearing Israel, Iran's long-time enemy, might attack if talks dragged on.