Iran cleric says armed forces prepared to respond to US aggression

Ayatollah Ahmad Khatami, a senior Iranian cleric who regularly delivers Friday prayer sermons in Tehran, said that Iran's armed forces are prepared to deal a heavy blow to any US aggression, according to Mehr News. The remarks were made in the context of Friday prayers and were reported under the outlet's coverage of tensions between Washington and Tehran.

The report by Mehr News placed the statement within its ongoing coverage of what it described as the threat of war on Iran. The outlet's publisher keywords for the item included Friday Prayers, Ahmad Khatami, Iran war and war on Iran, indicating that the comments were framed against the backdrop of heightened rhetoric between the two countries.

Khatami is a well-known figure in Iran's Friday prayer network, and such sermons are frequently used to convey official or establishment positions on foreign policy and security matters. His remarks on this occasion focused on the readiness of Iran's armed forces and their capacity to respond to what he characterized as US aggression.

Mehr News noted that the item was being updated, and further details of the sermon were not immediately available in the initial report. The outlet did not provide additional specifics on the timing of any military measures, the scope of the remarks, or any official response from US authorities.

The statement comes amid continuing friction in US-Iran relations, which have been marked by repeated exchanges of warnings over security and regional policy. Iranian officials have on multiple occasions publicly asserted that the country's military is prepared to defend against external threats, while US officials have issued their own warnings.

According to Mehr News, the comments were delivered during Friday prayers and centered on the armed forces' readiness. The report did not include further quotations from the sermon or additional context beyond the framing of the item as part of its coverage of Iran war-related developments.