Iranian general warns broad response awaits any U.S. military move
TEHRAN – Should the Americans think of orchestrating a plot against Iran, they will be faced with the Iranian nation’s response from the Mediterranean to the Indian Ocean, says Major General Yahya Rahim Safavi, a top military adviser to Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Leader of the Islamic Revolution.
“The Americans [should] take the remarks of Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah seriously …. Any anti-Iranian move will transform the [entire] region,” Rahim Safavi said on Friday at the Friday prayers in Tehran.
“The Americans know well that we are endowed with a wise and courageous leader and powerful armed forces,” he said. “Iran’s policy is to establish peace and sustainable security in the West Asia region through the withdrawal of transgressive foreign forces.”
General Rahim Safavi also advised U.S. President Donald Trump to learn from the fate of his predecessors, who tried in vain to exert their political will on the Iranian nation and government.
“Trump will go down in history with his pipe dream of subduing the Iranian nation,” asserted Safavi, who was chief of the Islamic Revolution Guard Corps (IRGC) from 1997 to 2007.
The Iranian general made the remarks a day after Washington said it was seeking to create an anti-Iran coalition. U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo had claimed that the initiative was “aimed at achieving peace.”
Washington’s so-called “coalition” announcement came in response to an attack led by Yemeni Armed Forces against Saudi Arabia’s oil facilities.
The attack effectively halved the kingdom’s oil production.
The Yemenis officially took credit for the attacks, but Pompeo swiftly blamed Iran. Furthermore, U.S. President Donald Trump said that the U.S. was “locked and loaded” for a response at the behest of the Arab kingdom, although he later said that he wanted no conflict with any country.
Tensions have significantly risen as a result of the accusations leveled against Iran, which Tehran has rejected, calling them an attempt by the White House to shift from a failed campaign of “maximum pressure” to one of “maximum deceit” against the Islamic Republic.
Despite Iran’s denial and the Yemenis’ claiming of responsibility, the U.S. accusation against Iran has prompted speculation that America may take military action against Iran or Iranian interests.
In a tweet on Thursday, Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said the remnants of the B-Team plus its ambitious allies are trying to deceive President Trump into a war with Iran.
“For their own sake, they should pray that they won't get what they seek,” he tweeted. “They’re still paying for much smaller #Yemen war they were too arrogant to end 4yrs ago.”
The “B-team” is a term thrown into popular usage by Zarif. It refers to a group of politicians who share an inclination toward potential war against Iran, and the letter “b” in their names. They include Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, and, former U.S. national security advisor John Bolton.
MH/PA