Ali Shamkhani, head of Iran's Defense Council, said Wednesday during a speech at the Revolution Day march that the ballistic missile arsenal is not subject to negotiation.
According to him, "the negotiations that come in parallel with the American president's threats fall within the framework of the usual American approach." He warned that "the war will not remain limited to a specific geographical framework or between only two sides."
The senior Iranian official, who is close to the country's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, also said that "the nature of the region causes any confrontation to have implications that go beyond the military aspect. Considering the energy resources and potential in the region, any escalation could have implications for many factors. Any escalation could affect the lives of people around the world."
He noted that "the only logical option for the other side (the US) is to engage seriously in the ongoing negotiation process and avoid demonstrations or propaganda." Shamkhani further emphasized that "the missile capabilities of the Islamic Republic of Iran are not for negotiation."
Thousands of people were filmed on one of Tehran's main streets, filling it even before the official marches began. Authorities placed various displays along the street designed to highlight the regime's achievements, including a pile of debris claimed to be an Israeli drone shot down over Iran during Operation Rising Lion.
One of the displays regime officials placed at the heart of the celebrations in Tehran was a pile of coffins draped in the United States flag bearing the names of senior commanders in the US military, including CENTCOM commander Vice Admiral Brad Cooper, and General Randy George, chief of staff of the US Army.
Yesterday, it was reported that the regime is forcing government employees and welfare recipients to participate in the events, threatening that their income will be affected if they do not take part in the regime's celebrations. This aligns with the regime's past behavior when public turnout at religious or political events was low.
