Iran blames Israel, warns Trump of war
Jerusalem ‘setting the stage’ for conflict
LONDON: Iran’s f oreign minister accused Israel of concocting a just cause for Washington to start a war against the Islamic Republic as Iranians marked the first anniversary of the US assassination of a top general.
Mohammad Javad Zarif said Iran had new intelligence from Iraqi sources showing that “Israeli agent-provocateurs” were staging attacks on US targets, laying a “trap” for outgoing President Donald Trump to start a conflict and jettison his successor Joe Biden’s plans to salvage the 2015 nuclear accord. He didn’t give further details about the nature of the intelligence.
His comments came after Iran’s military warned that it was prepared to defend itself and respond firmly to any US aggression during a weekend of bellicose statements commemorating General Qassem Soleimani’s killing by the US in a drone strike in Iraq on Jan 3 last year.
US forces were “vulnerable and in a defensive position” out of fear of an Iranian strike to retaliate for last year’s assault, said Major General Yahya Ramin Safavi, a top military adviser to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and a former commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. “We hope that while Trump’s evil government is around, nothing will happen,” he said on state TV.
“The US military has a better understanding of its weaknesses than its politicians. We will never initiate war, but if someone attacks Iran, we will respond firmly and with full preparedness,” Maj Gen Safavi said, adding that Iran was capable of sinking US aircraft carriers.
The comments show that while Iran wants to make clear that it won’t hesitate to defend itself against US military action, it does not want to escalate conflict and sees Mr Trump’s allies in the region as trying to start a war and to exploit a possible divide within the defence community in Washington over whether Mr Trump should strike Iran.
On Thursday, the US sent home the USS Nimitz, the only Navy aircraft carrier operating in the Middle East a day after it also sent B-52 bombers to the Persian Gulf in a show of force, AP reported, citing three unnamed defence officials. The report said the two actions may reflect a split among Pentagon officials.
Tensions between Iran and the US have resurged in recent weeks with Mr Trump reviving threats against the Islamic Republic in his final weeks in office as he tries to derail plans by Mr Biden to rescue the beleaguered nuclear accord and provide sanctions relief.
Mr Trump’s decision to target Soleimani pushed the countries to the brink of war, capping a security crisis in the Persian Gulf that started when Mr Trump abandoned the 2015 nuclear deal. Iranian officials and military commanders have repeatedly vowed to seek revenge for the strike for as long as US forces are scattered across the Middle East.
The accord limited Iran’s nuclear activities in exchange for sanctions relief, but since Mr Trump walked away from it Iran has ramped-up its activities and said on Saturday it had notified the United Nations that it may start producing 20% enriched uranium.