'Aggression is aggression': Iran rejects Trump's 'limited strike' remark; says will take decisive action if attacked

Iran warned on Monday that any attack by the United States — including a “limited strike,” which President Donald Trump has himself confirmed he is considering — would amount to an "act of aggression" and prompt a “decisive” response.

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“There is no such thing as a limited strike. An act of aggression is an act of aggression. Period. Any state would respond under its inherent right to self-defence — and we would do so decisively,” foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei told reporters in the capital, Tehran.




Speculation about possible US action in Iran has persisted since December last year, when protests initially sparked by record-high inflation and rising food prices escalated into a broader movement against the Iranian regime. Rights groups have accused authorities in the Islamic Republic of killing “thousands of protesters” during a sweeping crackdown.

On February 20, Trump said he was weighing a “limited” strike if Iran failed to reach an agreement with Washington over a range of issues, including Tehran's nuclear programme. “I guess I can say I am considering that,” he told reporters.

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The two sides concluded a second round of indirect talks in Switzerland on February 17, mediated by Oman, against the backdrop of a significant US military build-up in the region.

Further negotiations are scheduled for Thursday, according to confirmations from Iran and Oman, though Washington has yet to confirm the new round of talks.

Foreign minister Abbas Araghchi is heading Iran’s delegation, while the United States is represented by Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, the president's son-in-law.

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In an interview broadcast Sunday on Fox News, Witkoff said Trump was questioning why Iran had not “capitulated” in the face of Washington’s military deployment.

Baqaei, the Iranian foreign ministry spokesperson, dismissed that suggestion, saying Iranians had “never capitulated at any point in our history.”

The United States and Iran were briefly engaged in military exchanges in June last year during 12 days of hostilities between Iran and Israel, a key Washington ally.

(With AFP inputs)