Iran parliament speaker says nation will not yield to US threats or pressure

Iran's Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said on Sunday that the Iranian nation will not be intimidated by the United States and will not give in to US military threats or pressures under any circumstances, speaking at an open session of the parliament.

Ghalibaf said Washington's claims would carry no credibility until the US changes its behavior, stops what he described as bullying and makes good on its broken commitments. He added that Iran would deliver what he called an unimaginable response to any violation of the country's territorial integrity. He also said it was the US that miscalculated and plunged itself into a quagmire by waging war against Iran, and that it is now up to the Americans to take the necessary steps to extricate themselves.

Turning to US pressure efforts, the speaker said Americans imagine that media-based pressure tactics or military threats can force Iran to submit. He said they fail to realize that today's Iran is not the Iran of the Pahlavi era, which he described as a period of humiliation. He characterized the country as a fortress of self-belief, defensive capability and resolve that will not permit any foreign power to dictate terms regarding the honor of the land.

Ghalibaf reiterated that Iran will not be intimidated and is prepared to deliver a response beyond what its enemies could imagine to any act of aggression against its national sovereignty and territorial integrity. He said threats of large-scale war or assassination will not cause the Iranian nation to back down from what he called its inalienable rights and interests.

The remarks came during a parliamentary session and were reported by Mehr News. The report by Mehr News added that the speaker's comments were made in the context of what it described as US-Israeli aggression against Iran and references to Iran's Armed Forces.