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Iran threatened that "any" involvement from the United States in its ongoing conflict with Israel would lead to an "all-out war" as its military has reportedly began prepping missiles for retaliatory strikes on American bases, foreign ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei warned during an interview with Al Jazeera.
“Any American intervention would be a recipe for an all-out war in the region,” Baghaei said.
Thousands of United States troops are based in neighboring countries within range of Iran's weapons. Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei made a similar threat claiming his country "does not answer well to threats" after President Donald Trump publicly called for Iran to surrender.
“Intelligent people who know Iran, the Iranian nation, and its history will never speak to this nation in threatening language because the Iranian nation will not surrender,” he said in a statement shared on Iranian state media. “The Americans should know that any U.S. military intervention will undoubtedly be accompanied by irreparable damage.”
Trump claimed he was seeking "a real end" to the conflict between Israel and Iran and demanded a "complete give-up" by Iran after another senior military commander was killed by Israeli airstrikes.
“A complete give-up, it’s possible,” Trump said while addressing reporters aboard Air Force One after leaving the G7 summit in Canada early on Monday (June 16), clarifying he wanted "not a ceasefire, a real end" to the ongoing conflict. “I’m not too much in a mood to negotiate.”
“I’m not looking for a ceasefire, we’re looking at better than a ceasefire,” he reiterated.
The Israel Defense Forces reported multiple air raid sirens in the Golan Heights were triggered by a "hostile aircraft infiltration" on Wednesday (June 17) prior to three Iranian drones being shot down, the Times of Israel reported. Iran reportedly launched two barrages of an estimated 30 missiles at Israel Wednesday morning, though the IDF claimed most were intercepted and no injuries were reported.