“Remember Abbas Kiarostami, the renowned Iranian director who won the Palme d’Or at the 1997 Cannes Film Festival for his masterpiece Taste of Cherry? Even his HOME was not spared from the bombs of the American-Israeli aggressors,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said in a post on his X account on Wednesday.

“Was Kiarostami’s home part of the alleged ‘imminent threat’ to the United States?!” he asked.

“The truth is that this American-Israeli WAR OF WHIMS is not merely against a State — it is against a deep-rooted culture, civilization, and identity. Yet Iran, drawing strength from these very roots, will bring its enemies to their knees,” the spokesman underlined.

The US and the Israeli regime launched a large-scale unprovoked military campaign against Iran following the assassination of Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei, along with several senior military commanders and civilians on February 28.

The attacks have involved extensive aerial strikes on both military and civilian locations across Iran, causing significant casualties and widespread damage to infrastructure.

In response, the Iranian Armed Forces have carried out retaliatory operations, targeting American and Israeli positions in the occupied territories and at regional bases with waves of missiles and drones.