Ayatollah Ali Khamenei: Iran Is Ready To Face Israel's Zionist America-Regime Forces

JAKARTA - Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Iran was ready to respond to any new military offensive. He stressed that Tehran was able to throw greater punches at the enemy than it launched during Iran-Israel's 12-day war.

"The fact that our nation is ready to face the strength of the United States and its dog that is bound, the Zionist regime (Israel), is worthy of praise," Khamenei said in a statement broadcast by state TV as reported by Reuters, Wednesday, July 16.

Israel and the US launched attacks on Iran's nuclear facilities last month, arguing that the facility was part of a nuclear weapons development program. Tehran insists its nuclear program is purely for civilian purposes.

"The base attacked by Iran is a very sensitive American regional base," Khamenei said referring to the Iranian missile attack at the Al Udeid base in Qatar.

"A bigger blow can happen to the US and other countries," he stressed.

Iran is under pressure to continue nuclear negotiations with the US as Washington and three major European countries have agreed to set the end of August as a deadline for finalizing the deal.

If no progress has been made to that extent, the French Foreign Minister warned that international sanctions would be re-implemented through the UN snapshotback mechanism.

"Both in the diplomatic and military fields, whenever we enter this stage, we do it with our full hands and not from a weak position," Khamenei said.

He urged diplomats to heed "guides" and continue their work with enthusiasm, without elaborating.

The Iranian parliament released a statement on Wednesday stating the country should not continue nuclear negotiations with the US as long as conditions have not been met.