TEHRAN, June 22. /TASS/. Iran will respond to the US strikes on its three nuclear facilities, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said during a phone call with his French counterpart, Emmanuel Macron.
"The United States attacked us. What would you do in such a situation? Naturally, they must receive a response," Pezeshkian’s office quoted him as replying to Macron’s call for restraint.
"Our people will never bow to force and intimidates and, naturally, will respond to the aggression proportionally," Pezeshkian stressed, adding that Tehran has always stated its readiness for talks, but "the other side demanded the Iranian people’s surrender."
He noted that Tehran welcomed talks with Washington on its nuclear program but despite this the United States attacked its nuclear facilities. "First, the Americans said that they want to make sure that our nuclear program has a peaceful nature. We hailed dialogue but they not only violated the agreements but delivered strikes on our facilities in full coordination with the Zionist regime (Israel - TASS)," the Iranian president said.
Iran and the United States have been holding indirect Oman-brokered talks on the settlement of the situation around the Iranian nuclear program since April. After several attempts to reach an agreement, the talks turned out to be hanging by a thread due to disagreements between the US and Iran over uranium enrichment. The sixth round of talks was supposed to take place in Muscat, but after the Israeli strikes, the consultations were called off. Israel launched Operation Rising Lion on the night of June 13, targeting Iran's nuclear program.