Iran summons Swiss envoy over Trump bombing threat

TEHRAN / ISTANBUL

Iran summoned on Monday the Swiss envoy to deliver a formal warning following US President Donald Trump’s threat of bombing Iran if a nuclear deal is not reached.

“The director general for the Americas at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has issued an official warning to the United States Interests Section in Tehran to warn Washington against any hostile actions,” the Iranian news agency IRNA reported.

In the absence of the Swiss ambassador, the agency said “Issa Kameli summoned the chargé d'affaires of the Swiss Embassy, which represents the US in Tehran, to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and conveyed Iran's firm resolve to respond decisively and immediately to any threat.”

Switzerland represents US diplomatic interests in Tehran since the two sides cut ties shortly after the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

Kameli “condemned and rejected the inflammatory remarks,” calling them “violations of international law and the principles outlined in the United Nations Charter.”

The Iranian official “presented an official note warning against any malicious activity, emphasizing the Islamic Republic of Iran’s unwavering resolve to counteract any aggression.”

The chargé d'affaires assured Kameli that the matter would be promptly relayed to the US government, IRNA said.

In his first response to Trump’s threat of “bombing” Iran, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has warned that any “external aggression” would be met with “firm retaliation.”

Speaking to a congregation during Eid al-Fitr prayer in Tehran on Monday, Khamenei said external aggression is unlikely, but the country is prepared for any eventuality.

His remarks came a day after Trump threatened Iran with bombing and secondary tariffs if it failed to reach an agreement with the US over its nuclear program.

Iran has rejected direct negotiations with the Trump administration but has kept diplomatic channels open to address contentious nuclear issues through indirect negotiations.

Iran’s government responded to Trump’s letter through Oman last week, noting its unwillingness to engage in direct negotiations under military threats.

Trump’s letter is said to have urged Iran to negotiate a new nuclear deal to replace the 2015 accord, which was put on the back burner after the US withdrew from it in May 2018 during Trump’s first presidency.

On Sunday, Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian also ruled out direct negotiations with the US but expressed his administration’s willingness to engage in indirect talks.

Khamenei said this year’s holy month of Ramadan was “bitter” for Muslims worldwide due to events in Gaza and Lebanon, holding the US complicit in Israeli atrocities against Palestinians.

He described Israel as a “proxy force” of Western powers in the West Asia region, asserting that the “criminal group” must be “uprooted from Palestine.”

“Let everyone know that our stance remains the same as before, and the hostility of the US and the Zionist regime remains unchanged,” he said.

Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei also condemned Trump’s bombing threat against Iran. He described the threat by a head of state as a “shocking affront to the very essence of international peace and security.”

“Violence breeds violence, peace begets peace. The U.S. can choose the course...; and concede to CONSEQUENCES,” he wrote on X.