Adnkronos (Adnkronos) – "If I were going to do it, would I tell you?" US President Donald Trump remains mum and responds this way to the question about the possibility of new US attacks on Iran. A possibility that could materialize after the midterm elections.
While Qatar and Pakistan continue to mediate in an attempt to reach an agreement for the resumption of direct negotiations between Washington and Tehran and avoid a military escalation after the November 3 elections, Iran has meanwhile issued yet another warning to the tycoon.
“If we don't punish Trump and the United States, tomorrow other countries will think that attacking Iran has no consequences” and “if a war breaks out, our response will be decisive,” warned Mohsen Rezaei, Secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council.
According to President Trump, Iran “wants to make a deal. We'll find out.
The negotiations are going well, but they're not very reliable. They make a deal and then back out."
"We still have one or two sites to address, but we can do it in 10 minutes," he then threatened again, naming Pickaxe Mountain, the Islamic Republic's alleged underground nuclear complex, as a possible target. The president assured, however, that Washington is in no rush to resume military operations, arguing that much of Iran's military capabilities and nuclear program have already been destroyed.
The statements come after, according to the Wall Street Journal, Trump had a telephone conversation with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu yesterday morning.
"We've knocked out their nuclear program," Trump told reporters at his Florida residence. "We still have, I would say, one or two sites to address, but we can do that in 10 minutes." The president then mentioned Pickaxe Mountain: "You could probably look at Pickaxe Mountain, and that needs to be addressed. We can do that very quickly."
Rezaei, therefore, is answering for Tehran. In an interview with a local broadcaster, he explained that "during recent meetings with Iranian officials, representatives of regional countries discussed future agreements and took firm positions against Israel. Officials from Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and Pakistan have explicitly warned of Israel's intention to extend the scope of its aggression to other Muslim countries."
Then he turned to the United States, warning: "If we don't punish Trump and the United States, tomorrow other countries will think that attacking Iran has no consequences... We will break America's horns and deprive it of its ability to defend itself. If the enemy makes another mistake, it will face devastating blows and a defense that will be a source of national pride." Because "if war breaks out, Iran's response will be decisive," promises the secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council.
For days, reports have been circulating that the American president is planning to resume attacks on Iran after the midterm elections. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio addressed this issue while speaking to the press at the G20 summit in Atlanta.
Trump has not yet "made any decision" regarding a possible new military intervention in Iran, Rubio said. "The president has not made any decision. The president favors a different approach. If he wanted to act this way," that is, with force, "he would have done so weeks or even months ago," he emphasized. "The president of the United States prefers to resolve this issue peacefully, but if we need to launch a new military operation, we have the capacity to do so," he stated during his speech in Atlanta. "The Iranian regime is essentially arguing that 'unless we get what we want, we will destroy the energy infrastructure of the entire region.' Think about that for a moment. This is not normal behavior," Rubio added. The United States, he emphasized, "remains the most highly capable military power on Earth. We can achieve military objectives if we choose."
Iran has designated the British intelligence service MI6, the Royal Navy, and the Royal Air Force as hostile groups or terrorist organizations, in response to the measures taken by the London government against Tehran. The Iranian Foreign Ministry announced the move in a statement condemning what it called "hostile and illegal" actions by the United Kingdom.
Specifically, the ministry classified MI6 as a "hostile group," while the British Navy and Air Force were designated as terrorist organizations. The measures, the statement specifies, were adopted based on a resolution by Iran's Supreme National Security Council and take effect upon publication of the statement.
Tehran cited the decision as a basis for British actions against the Islamic Republic over the past year. These include London's military and logistical support to the United States and Israel during the war against Iran, through the provision of bases and infrastructure, and the July 13 decision to designate the Revolutionary Guards as responsible for threats to national security.
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