Addressing a parliamentary session on Tuesday, Qalibaf said the deep-rooted US hostility toward the Iranian nation stems from its refusal to submit to Washington’s hegemonic ambitions and its pursuit of independence.
He said the Iranian people's steadfastness and resistance have brought the Israeli regime and the US to a state of desperation, leaving them unable to determine how to deal with a nation that refuses to yield.
Washington and the Zionist regime occasionally resort to threats and military action in an attempt to force Iran into submission following their successive failures, he added, stressing that such efforts would fail. “Iran will not surrender,” he emphasized.
Referring to the directives of Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Mojtaba Hosseini Khamenei, Qalibaf said Iran's military strategy for responding to any potential enemy attack has already been determined.
“Accordingly, our military and strategic response to any enemy miscalculation will be unpredictable,” Qalibaf warned, adding that Iran would not confine its response to geographical limitations and would dismantle the enemy's faulty calculations along with its material and non-material assets.
He also urged regional countries to understand that Iran, while keeping its finger on the trigger and remaining prepared for confrontation, has offered the US a strong and rational response.
The responsibility now rests with Washington to prevent a war, he noted, emphasizing that Iran's military and operational forces remain at the highest level of defensive readiness.
“If Washington makes another strategic mistake, it should know that this time it will face a new battlefield and will be even more desperate than it is today as it searches for a way out,” the Parliament speaker warned.