US President Donald Trump [Getty Images]
US President Donald Trump [Getty Images]

Iran's military warned Sunday that it is prepared to strike US assets beyond the Middle East, as President Donald Trump raised the possibility of resuming military action against the country.

Brigadier General Akrami-Nia, spokesperson for the Iranian military, issued a statement threatening sweeping retaliation against any US military moves, according to Iran's state broadcaster IRIB, Yonhap reported.

"Any additional US military provocation will be met with an immediate, devastating and far broader response than before," Akrami-Nia said.

Should the United States launch new military action, any US facilities, equipment, forces and interests within reach would become targets for Iran, Akrami-Nia added.

Akrami-Nia also signaled that Iran's response would not be confined to the Middle East or other regions where past conflicts have occurred. "The enemy must not be mistaken in thinking that Iran's response will be limited to specific geographic areas where previous conflicts took place," he said.

He added that in the event of armed conflict, Iran would hold the initiative and that a prolonged war would be inevitable.

"Any potential conflict that may arise could last far longer than before, and the US president will not be able to unilaterally decide when and on what terms that war ends," he said. "The American people and their European allies must also know that Iran will play a decisive role in determining the outcome of any future conflict."

Trump: 'One or two spots left to deal with — can do it in 10 minutes'

Earlier, Trump raised the possibility of striking Iran again, saying there were one or two targets there that still needed to be dealt with.

Speaking to reporters at his Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida on Saturday (local time), Trump said the United States had neutralized a significant portion of Iran's military capabilities. "There are one or two spots we still have to take care of, but we can do it in 10 minutes," he said, according to AFP and other outlets.

Trump pointed to a site known as "Pickaxe Mountain" — widely cited as a major below-ground nuclear facility in Iran — as one of the remaining targets, saying it could be dealt with "very quickly."

On negotiations with Iran through intermediaries, Trump said talks were "going well" but added, "They're not very trustworthy. We'll see if we can make a deal."

The remarks came shortly after Secretary of State Marco Rubio said at a G20 foreign ministers' meeting that Trump had not yet decided whether to strike Iran again and that he preferred a diplomatic resolution.


yul@heraldcorp.com