Pezeshkian warns Iran ‘will not remain silent’ as Rubio flags further US strikes

Rubio said the war will continue “as long as it takes” to achieve the “objectives”, adding that the world will be safer when it is over.”

By Kehinde Okeowo

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has made it clear that the Islamic Republic will not “remain silent” while being attacked by Israel and the United States.

​He issued the warning on Monday in a statement shared on his official X (formerly Twitter) page.

​Pezeshkian made the vow following allegations that US–Israeli air strikes on a school and a Tehran hospital killed several people.

​“Attacks on hospitals strike at life itself. Attacks on schools target a nation’s future… The world must condemn them,” he said. “Iran will not remain silent or yield to these crimes.”

​According to him, 168 people were killed at the school in the south on Saturday; however, neither the United States nor Israel has confirmed the strike. The incident at Tehran’s Gandhi Hospital allegedly took place on Sunday.

​Meanwhile, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has said Iran will face more powerful strikes in the coming days.

ALSO READ: War in the Mideast widens as Trump says strikes on Iran could last several weeks

He made this known while addressing reporters on Capitol Hill as the war across the Middle East intensifies.

​Rubio said, “The hardest hits are yet to come from the US military.” He added, “The next phase will be even more punishing.”

​Echoing President Donald Trump’s comments, the Secretary declared the war will continue “as long as it takes” to achieve the “objectives,” assuring that the world will be safer when the operation is concluded.

​He added that the US–Israel operation “needed to happen” because, in about a year or a year and a half, Iran “would have crossed the line of immunity.”

​“They would have had so many short-range missiles and so many drones that no one could have done anything about it,” he noted. “They could have held the whole world hostage.”

​Rubio also said that while the US would love to see a new regime, the bottom line is that the Islamic Republic will not be allowed to possess ballistic missiles and drones.