US President Donald Trump’s recent statements against Iranian officials, coinciding with the latest US military strikes on Iran, have sparked mixed reactions in Tehran.
Hardline and fundamentalist figures and media outlets believe these developments confirm their earlier predictions that negotiations and reaching an agreement with Trump are futile, calling for a return to war and confrontation with the “Great Satan.”
Speaking on the sidelines of the NATO summit in Ankara, Turkey, Trump described the Iranians as “scum” and “sick.” He also declared that he believes the memorandum of understanding with Iran is “over,” adding, “We have dealt the Iranians a very strong blow, and they are violent and brutal. If they had a nuclear weapon, they would use it.”
Between Tuesday and Thursday, the US military launched extensive attacks on various locations in northern, central, and southern Iran, although the southern regions were the most heavily bombarded. In response, the Iranian Revolutionary Guard and the army announced that they had targeted US military bases in Bahrain, Kuwait, and Qatar.
Ali Akbar Velayati, the Iranian Supreme Leader's advisor on international affairs, wrote on the X platform, commenting on the recent statements by the US president: "We have previously warned that the region is not a place for small countries to play politics, and we have repeatedly proven that any adventure will be met with an immediate response."
He added: "However, the responsibility for igniting new tensions and verbally acknowledging the cancellation of the Memorandum of Understanding lies with the notorious thief politician linked to the Epstein case, a memorandum that has already been repeatedly violated in practice, thus pushing the region once again toward the flames." The hardline conservative newspaper Kayhan, whose editor-in-chief is appointed by the Iranian Supreme Leader, described the US attacks as "a shot to the heart of the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding," writing: "After Trump's nonsense and the US attack, the Memorandum of Understanding is over, and there is no longer any justification for continuing negotiations."
The newspaper added, referring to Trump: “The White House gambler’s fear of the Islamic nation’s resurgence and the raising of the red banners of vengeance during the unprecedented funeral procession for the martyred leader has once again driven him to delirium and broken promises. This reality proves that relying on the mirage of diplomacy and negotiation with the American terrorist regime, which responds to its commitments with insults and aggression, is fundamentally meaningless.”
Kayhan also presented the following demands to the Iranian Foreign Ministry: “The diplomatic corps must immediately declare the termination of this futile memorandum and completely halt the region’s oil exports through the Strait of Hormuz, making it impossible to rehabilitate these areas for an extended period, thus imposing crippling economic pressure on the West. Simultaneously, closing the Bab el-Mandeb Strait should be placed on the agenda.” Furthermore, pursuing a strategy of "imposing costs" and launching disproportionate and calculated strikes, while inflicting heavy casualties on American forces, will make the cost-benefit equation negative for Washington, and undermine its psychological security to the lowest degree, because the United States only understands the language of force.
Hossein Shariatmadari, editor of the Kayhan newspaper, said in an interview with the Fars News Agency: “The only thing separating us from nuclear weapons is will, not technology. The Islamic Republic possesses the knowledge and technical capability to produce nuclear weapons, but it has been prevented from doing so thus far, based on the decision of the martyred leader. Any change to this decision depends on the opinion of the Supreme Leader.”
Shariatmadari added: “Trump’s recent statements reflect, above all, his intense anger, as well as the anger of some Western powers and the European Union, at the widespread popular participation and the emphasis on avenging the martyrs’ blood.”
He continued: “Under the current circumstances, there is no justification for continuing negotiations, because the other side only understands the language of force.”
He added that halting negotiations, restoring the Strait of Hormuz to more restrictive conditions, and pursuing the Bab el-Mandeb issue are three urgent measures that must be implemented, considering them “keys to success” in exerting pressure on the opposing side.
Esmail Ramazani wrote in an article published on the hardline conservative website Rajanews: “Activate the Islamic Republic’s capabilities to kill Trump and Netanyahu.” Do not fear the legal repercussions of threatening or assassinating them; they killed our leader and our people. If you cannot do so, at least say so. Revenge for the martyred leader begins with punishing those who ordered and carried out the assassination, and ends with the removal of arrogance.” He added, “You may have only one missile, but God is capable of sending it down a stone’s throw from Netanyahu’s government. Did not God strike the stone of the sling of the Prophet David, peace be upon him, in the forehead of Goliath?”
Ilya Davoudi wrote in the hardline conservative newspaper Vatan-e Emrooz: “Trump’s statements against Iran and the Iranians revealed his confusion and impotence. He spoke in his usual language, using threats, insults, and anger. What truly angered Trump was not the official Iranian responses, nor the political statements, nor even the military calculations, but rather that scene which he cannot erase with bombs, sanctions, threats, or psychological warfare: the majestic presence of the Iranian and Iraqi people at the funeral of the great leader, which turned into a popular referendum in the streets on the true nature of power.”
Former diplomat Kourosh Ahmadi, writing in the reformist newspaper Sazandegi, the mouthpiece of the Executives of Construction Party, addressed the disputes over the Strait of Hormuz and the recent US attacks on Iran, stating: “The US military response was far disproportionate to the scale of the dispute… However, it cannot be said that the path of diplomacy is over. The experience of Iranian-American relations shows that even in the most severe crises, the possibility of returning to negotiations remains.” He added: “What is most necessary today is reaching a common interpretation of Article 5 of the Memorandum of Understanding on the Strait of Hormuz, a framework that takes into account Iranian security considerations while simultaneously guaranteeing the rights of other coastal states and the principle of freedom of navigation. Otherwise, the Strait of Hormuz could become, just as the nuclear issue was a source of crises in recent years, a new focal point for future confrontations between Iran and the United States, posing a serious challenge to the current fragile understanding.”
As Majid Moradi wrote in the reformist newspaper Arman-e Melli: “The rogue and criminal president of the American regime, more than three months after the brutal aggression against Iranian territory and the assassination of the Supreme Leader and the martyred commanders in Iran, speaks of Iran as if he waged a holy war there, and that everything he failed to achieve on the battlefield should be achieved through negotiations.”
He continued: “If Trump achieved all his objectives in the war and completely destroyed the Iranian military forces, what need did he have to rebuke the Europeans again during the NATO summit in Turkey, saying: ‘Why didn’t you help us in the war against Iran?!’ This complaint represents a clear admission of failure to achieve the objectives of the war against Iran.”
