Rezaei: We Are Ready for a ‘Fateful War’, Trump’s Threats Will Yield Nothing
TEHRAN -- Iran’s top security official said on Saturday that Tehran has conveyed three conditions to mediators for ending the war with the United States, warning that Washington must accept them and that Iran is prepared for a “decisive” confrontation.
Mohsen Rezaei, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, told Al Jazeera in an interview that Iran’s conditions are “ending the war on all fronts, the release of our frozen funds, and the end of the naval blockade”.
Rezaei said that a Qatari mediator has transmitted Iran’s conditions to Washington and that Tehran is awaiting a response from U.S. President Donald Trump.
“It is in Washington’s interest to accept our conditions for ending the war,” he said, adding that Trump’s threats would yield no results and that Iran was ready for a “fateful war”.
He said U.S. President Trump’s assessments and calculations regarding Iran were wrong and that the war was initiated by terrorist Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
“We know the weaknesses of the U.S. military and are more prepared than ever to confront its air attacks,” Rezaei said. He added that after Washington’s withdrawal from a memorandum of understanding, Iran decided to change its strategy toward the United States.
Rezaei said Iran recently tested an anti-ship missile near a U.S. aircraft carrier. “We are serious about defending ourselves, and in the event of an attack, we will target American bases and Washington’s interests in the region with greater force.”
He also said that U.S. and Israeli actions give Iran the right to withdraw from the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, but that no decision has been made yet and the matter depends on Washington’s behavior.
“We are still committed to the fatwa of the late Leader [Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei] and have not changed our nuclear doctrine, but we do not know what will happen in the future.”
On Yemen, Rezaei said Iran wants the war between Saudi Arabia and Yemen to end and believes Yemenis also seek an agreement with Riyadh.