Iranian Lawmaker Advocates for Seizing US Military Base Amid Rising Tensions
Call for Action Against US Forces
A prominent Iranian politician and former foreign minister has suggested that Iran should take control of a US military installation in the Middle East and capture American soldiers as a countermeasure to recent US military actions against Iran. Manouchehr Mottaki, who held the position of foreign minister from 2005 to 2010 and has been serving in parliament since 2024, expressed these views during an interview aired on Iranian state television on Wednesday.
Mottaki proposed that Iran should conduct a ground operation to infiltrate a US base in the region and "kidnap hundreds or thousands of US soldiers" in retaliation for recent airstrikes and what he termed as threats to invade Iran's Kharg Island and other significant oil facilities in the southern region.
Last week, he also criticized the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding discussions between the US and Iran, labeling them as a "deception plan." He stated, "If the negotiating team still does not believe this, hold a meeting and explain it to them," as reported by state-aligned media. Mottaki claimed that the Islamabad agreement was part of a broader scheme of deception orchestrated by the US, which he argued aimed to dismantle the Islamic Republic within a few days but ultimately failed.
According to reports from Iran International, Mottaki has called for "vengeance" both domestically and internationally following strikes that allegedly resulted in the death of Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Furthermore, Mottaki has urged legal action against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former US President Donald Trump regarding the strikes on Iran, asserting that such prosecutions would disrupt American governance. He mentioned that the directive to pursue these leaders had been communicated by Khamenei to the head of Iran's judiciary following the conflict in June 2025.
In earlier comments reported by Iran's WANA news agency, Mottaki accused Bahrain of acting as "American puppets" by supporting an anti-Iran resolution concerning the Strait of Hormuz at the UN Security Council. He warned that the leaders in Manama were failing to recognize the dangers of aligning with the US and that their actions would ultimately lead to their downfall.
Meanwhile, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) released a statement via its affiliated Fars News Agency, urging citizens in Kuwait and Jordan to advocate for the expulsion of US forces from their territories. The IRGC's statement called upon the "honorable and noble people" of these nations to remove what they termed as "child-killers and occupiers" from their lands.
As tensions escalate, President Trump stated in an interview that the US would increase its military strikes on Iranian infrastructure if Tehran did not engage in negotiations. He warned, "We're going to hit them very hard tonight. We're going to hit them very hard tomorrow night. We're going to hit them very hard the night after," emphasizing that energy targets would be prioritized last.
Trump also remarked on the recent operations by US Central Command, asserting, "We're beating them up really badly. They have to be beaten up." He dismissed Iranian claims of not pursuing nuclear weapons, stating, "Everything Iran says is a lie," and reiterated that his decision to initiate Operation Epic Fury was influenced by Iran's ongoing nuclear ambitions.