Arab Press

بالشعب و للشعب
Saturday, May 31, 2025

Iran can respond to America’s ‘other options’, top official replies after Biden says he’s ready to act should diplomacy fail

Iran can respond to America’s ‘other options’, top official replies after Biden says he’s ready to act should diplomacy fail

US President Joe Biden said the US can turn to “other options” should negotiations with Iran fail. A senior Iranian official responded, saying it’s an illegal threat and that Tehran has the right to respond in kind.

The warning from Tehran was voiced on Saturday by the secretary the Supreme National Security Council, Admiral Ali Shamkhani, who tweeted it in Farsi, English, Hebrew, and Arabic.


He noted the “emphasis on using ‘Other Options’ against Iran” expressed during a meeting between President Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett at the White House on Friday. The signal was “an illegal threat to another country” that “establishes the Islamic Republic of Iran’s right to reciprocal response to ‘Available Options,’” Shamkhani said, adding the hashtag #ActiveResistance.

The response was to the assurances given by Biden to Bennett that the US won’t hesitate to take action against Iran should the preferred path of diplomacy prove to be fruitless.

“If diplomacy fails, we’re ready to turn to other options,” the president said, without offering specifics.

The meeting in Washington came one day behind schedule after a delay due to the terrorist attack in Kabul on Thursday, which killed over 170 people, including 13 US troops. The first one-on-one meeting between the newly-elected leaders was meant to smooth the tensions that festered under Bennett’s predecessor, Benjamin Netanyahu. The former prime minister was a vocal critic of the Obama-era multilateral nuclear deal with Iran, and Biden’s attempt to negotiate its revival after Donald Trump’s withdrawal from the agreement.

The rift was exemplified by a reported lack of intelligence cooperation between Netanyahu’s government and the Biden administration. According to the New York Times, the Israelis didn’t inform the US about their planned attack on Iran’s Natanz nuclear site in April until the very last moment, giving the Americans no opportunity to call it off, should they have wanted to. Israel has not claimed responsibility for the act of sabotage.

The Biden administration and Iran have been conducting indirect talks in Vienna for months, but no breakthrough has come out of it. The 2015 agreement, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), became increasingly meaningless after Trump unilaterally withdrew from it in 2018, and targeted Iran with crippling economic sanctions.

Tehran started reneging on its part of the bargain a year later, saying that other Western signatories of the deal failed to adequately compensate for the damage done to Iran by the US move. Under the JCPOA, Tehran agreed to restrict its nuclear industry in exchange for sanctions relief and lucrative business opportunities.

The lack of trust between Iran and the US was highlighted by the supreme leader of Iran, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who held his first formal meeting with the incoming conservative government on Saturday. He stressed that no administration in Washington should be trusted, regardless of who is in charge of it, saying, “There is a predatory wolf behind the scenes of US foreign policy that sometimes turns into a cunning fox.”

Newsletter

Related Articles

Arab Press
0:00
0:00
Close
Meta and Anduril Collaborate on AI-Driven Military Augmented Reality Systems
EU Central Bank Pushes to Replace US Dollar with Euro as World’s Main Currency
European and Arab Ministers Convene in Madrid to Address Gaza Conflict
Head of Gaza Aid Group Resigns Amid Humanitarian Concerns
U.S. Health Secretary Ends Select COVID-19 Vaccine Recommendations
Trump Warns Putin Is 'Playing with Fire' Amid Escalating Ukraine Conflict
India and Pakistan Engage Trump-Linked Lobbyists to Influence U.S. Policy
U.S. Halts New Student Visa Interviews Amid Enhanced Security Measures
Trump Administration Cancels $100 Million in Federal Contracts with Harvard
SpaceX Starship Test Flight Ends in Failure, Mars Mission Timeline Uncertain
King Charles Affirms Canadian Sovereignty Amid U.S. Statehood Pressure
Iranian Revolutionary Guard Founder Warns Against Trusting Regime in Nuclear Talks
Netanyahu Accuses Starmer of Siding with Hamas
Calls Grow to Resume Syrian Asylum Claims in UK
UAE Offers Free ChatGPT Plus Subscriptions to Citizens
Denmark Increases Retirement Age to 70, Setting a European Precedent
Iranian Director Jafar Panahi Wins Palme d'Or at Cannes
Israeli Airstrike Kills Nine Children of Gaza Doctor
Lebanon Initiates Plan to Disarm Palestinian Factions
Iran and U.S. Make Limited Progress in Nuclear Talks
Trump Administration's Tariff Policies and Dollar Strategy Spark Global Economic Debate
OpenAI Acquires Jony Ive’s Startup for $6.5 Billion to Build a Revolutionary “Third Core Device”
Turkey Weighs Citizens in Public as Erdoğan Launches National Slimming Campaign
UK Suspends Trade Talks with Israel Amid Gaza Offensive
Iran and U.S. Set for Fifth Round of Nuclear Talks Amid Rising Tensions
Russia Expands Military Presence Near Finland Amid Rising Tensions
Indian Scholar Arrested in Crackdown Over Pakistan Conflict Commentary
Israel Eases Gaza Blockade Amid Internal Dispute Over Military Strategy
President Biden’s announcement of advanced prostate cancer sparked public sympathy—but behind closed doors, Democrats are in panic
Mount Lewotobi Laki-Laki Erupts Again, Spewing Ash Cloud over Flores Island
Indian jet shootdown: the all-robot legion behind China’s PL-15E missiles
The Chinese Dragon: The True Winner in the India-Pakistan Clash
Australia's Venomous Creatures Contribute to Life-Saving Antivenom Programme
The Spanish Were Right: Long Working Hours Harm Brain Function
Did Former FBI Director Call for Violence Against Trump? Instagram Post Sparks Uproar
US and UAE Partner to Develop Massive AI Data Center Complex
Apple's $95 Million Siri Settlement: Eligible Users Have Until July 2 to File Claims
US and UAE Reach Preliminary Agreement on Nvidia AI Chip Imports
President Trump and Elon Musk Welcomed by Emir of Qatar Sheikh Tamim with Cybertruck Convoy
Strong Warning Issued: Do Not Use General Chatbots for Medical, Legal, or Educational Guidance
NVIDIA and Saudi Arabia Launch Strategic Partnership to Establish AI Centers
Trump Meets Syrian President Ahmad al-Shara in Historic Encounter
US and Saudi Arabia Sign Landmark Agreements Across Multiple Sectors
Why Saudi Arabia Rolled Out a Purple Carpet for Donald Trump Instead of Red
Elon Musk Joins Trump Meeting in Saudi Arabia
Trump says it would be 'stupid' not to accept gift of Qatari plane
Quantum Computing Threatens Bitcoin Security
Michael Jordan to Serve as Analyst for NBA Games
Senate Democrats Move to Censure Trump Over Qatar Jet Gift
Hamas Releases Last Living US Hostage from Gaza Amid Ongoing Conflict
×