TEHRAN – Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif has warned the lame-duck U.S. President Donald Trump against any provocative moves in the final weeks of his administration, advising him to “be careful of a trap” by “Israeli agent-provocateurs”.

“New intelligence from Iraq indicate that Israeli agent-provocateurs are plotting attacks against Americans—putting an outgoing Trump in a bind with a fake casus belli,” Zarif wrote in a tweet on Saturday.

“Be careful of a trap, @realDonaldTrump. Any fireworks will backfire badly, particularly against your same BFFs,” he added.

It came after two nuclear-capable American B-52 bombers flew over the Persian Gulf on Wednesday in nonstop flights to the region from their U.S.-based hangars. It was the third time in six weeks that American bombers were conducting long-range flights off the Iranian coast.

The latest deployments came after the U.S. Navy announced the arrival of a nuclear-powered submarine in the Persian Gulf a week earlier. The USS Georgia passed the Strait of Hormuz accompanied by two American warships, making it the first missile-loaded submarine of its kind to enter the Persian Gulf in eight years.

On Saturday, a senior military advisor to the Leader of the Islamic Revolution underlined the vulnerability of the U.S. military assets in the region, saying Iran is able to easily sink a U.S. aircraft carrier in a few hours.

Major General Yahya Rahim Safavi said the U.S. military forces in the region are currently on the defensive and they know how vulnerable they are.

“My assessment is that they (U.S.) are getting passive due to their weakness. They are concerned that we would carry out operations on the martyrdom anniversary of martyrs Soleimani and Abu Mahdi [al-Muhandis] as well as the martyrdom of Mohsen Fakhrizadeh,” asserted General Rahim Safavi, the former IRGC chief.

“My assessment is that they are on the defensive. Of course, we must not underestimate the enemy. Our forces are strong and fully prepared to defend our interests. The Americans know that their forces in the region are very vulnerable. Iran is able to turn U.S. aircraft carriers into submarines in a few hours,” he added.

On January 3, 2020, Trump ordered drone strikes that martyred General Soleimani and Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, the deputy commander of Iraq’s Popular Mobilization Units (PMU).

Five days later, Iran’s IRGC attacked Ain al-Assad airbase in western Iraq, where U.S. forces were stationed, as part of its promised “tough revenge” for the U.S. terror attack.

Iran has also vowed to spare no efforts in bringing the assassins of General Soleimani, especially Trump, to justice.

MH/PA