FM Zarif: U.S. Cannot Finish Any War With Iran
NEW YORK (Dispatches) -- Iran's Foreign Minister Muhammad Javad Zarif warned in an interview that the U.S. could not "finish" a war against Iran, while blaming U.S. intelligence agencies for a "cyber war" he said was being waged against Iran.
In an interview aired Sunday on NBC's "Meet The Press," Zarif urged the Trump administration against pursuing a military solution to conflicts in the Middle East.
"There is a cyber war going on. The United States started that cyber war, with attacking our nuclear facilities in a very dangerous, irresponsible way that could've killed millions of people," Zarif said.
"There is a cyber war and Iran is engaged in that cyber war," he continued. "Any war that the United States starts it won't be able to finish."
Zarif's comments came after weeks of tensions in the Middle East, including attacks on Saudi oil facilities earlier this month and the downing of a U.S. surveillance drone.
Iranian forces also seized a British oil tanker in response to the seizure of an Iranian tanker in Gibraltar, which the U.S. and UK argued was bound for Syria.
The Trump administration took further steps to limit the movement of senior Iranian officials in the U.S. under President Trump's direction, barring them and their families from entry.
Zarif further denied Iran would interfere with the upcoming U.S. presidential election and said Tehran doesn’t have a preference in the race.
The interview took place in New York, which Zarif visited this past week to attend meetings at the United Nations. NBC provided a partial transcript on Saturday.
When "Meet the Press” moderator Chuck Todd noted that U.S. intelligence included Iran among the countries attempting to interfere with the U.S. election, Zarif responded, "We don’t have a preference in your election to intervene in that election.”
"We don’t interfere in the internal affairs of another country,” Zarif said later. "But there is a cyber war going on.”
In an interview aired Sunday on NBC's "Meet The Press," Zarif urged the Trump administration against pursuing a military solution to conflicts in the Middle East.
"There is a cyber war going on. The United States started that cyber war, with attacking our nuclear facilities in a very dangerous, irresponsible way that could've killed millions of people," Zarif said.
"There is a cyber war and Iran is engaged in that cyber war," he continued. "Any war that the United States starts it won't be able to finish."
Zarif's comments came after weeks of tensions in the Middle East, including attacks on Saudi oil facilities earlier this month and the downing of a U.S. surveillance drone.
Iranian forces also seized a British oil tanker in response to the seizure of an Iranian tanker in Gibraltar, which the U.S. and UK argued was bound for Syria.
The Trump administration took further steps to limit the movement of senior Iranian officials in the U.S. under President Trump's direction, barring them and their families from entry.
Zarif further denied Iran would interfere with the upcoming U.S. presidential election and said Tehran doesn’t have a preference in the race.
The interview took place in New York, which Zarif visited this past week to attend meetings at the United Nations. NBC provided a partial transcript on Saturday.
When "Meet the Press” moderator Chuck Todd noted that U.S. intelligence included Iran among the countries attempting to interfere with the U.S. election, Zarif responded, "We don’t have a preference in your election to intervene in that election.”
"We don’t interfere in the internal affairs of another country,” Zarif said later. "But there is a cyber war going on.”
The Iranian official cited Stuxnet, a computer virus that is widely believed to be a joint creation of the U.S. and the occupying regime of Israel and is blamed for disrupting thousands of Iranian centrifuges in an effort to damage its nuclear program.
"The United States started that cyber war, with attacking our nuclear facilities in a very dangerous, irresponsible way that could’ve killed millions of people. You remember Stuxnet?” Zarif said.
He added: "So there is a cyber war … and Iran is engaged in that cyber war. But the United — any war that the United States starts, it won’t be able to finish.”
"The United States started that cyber war, with attacking our nuclear facilities in a very dangerous, irresponsible way that could’ve killed millions of people. You remember Stuxnet?” Zarif said.
He added: "So there is a cyber war … and Iran is engaged in that cyber war. But the United — any war that the United States starts, it won’t be able to finish.”