Khamenei warns Iran will answer renewed US aggression on a much greater scale

Iran's Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei warned Wednesday that any renewed US aggression would trigger an Iranian response "on a much greater scale," while calling for "absolute deterrence" in a message marking the "Day of Fighting Global Arrogance." Khamenei cited Iran's destruction of US bases in the region and its management of the Strait of Hormuz as part of a campaign against US hegemony, adding that "the US sees the end of its hegemony as distant; we see it as near." He dismissed the Republican Party's midterm election defeats as irrelevant to Washington's hostility, saying those expecting change through concessions are "greatly mistaken." Mediators including Qatar, Russia, and China have pushed for progress in US-Iran negotiations to avert a potential American military strike. Iranian security chief Mohsen Rezaei, who received a letter from US Vice President JD Vance, said Washington's response to Iran's seven conditions was "not convincing," demanding a full reply before reopening the Strait of Hormuz.