Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif blasted the US for promoting lies and nonsense, and said that although the Islamic Republic will not begin a war, it will bring any country trying to undermine Iran's sovereignty to its knees. RNA - "Don’t be mislead by usual warmongers, AGAIN, @realDonaldTrump: Iran has FRIENDS: No one can have MILLIONS of 'proxies' Unlike the US—which surreptitiously lies, cheats & assassinates—Iran only acts in self-defense," Zarif wrote on his Twitter account.
"Openly Iran starts no wars, but teaches lessons to those who do," he added.
Zarif's remarks came after US President Donald Trump claimed on Wednesday that as per information received by the US government, "Iran or its proxies are planning a sneak attack on US troops and/or assets in Iraq. If this happens, Iran will pay a very heavy price, indeed!"
Meantime,
In relevant remarks on Wednesday, Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Seyed Abbas Mousavi said that the military moves of the US in Iraq are against the positions of the Iraqi government, parliament and people, and warned against the repercussions of such acts.
"The US is making the moves while the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and the international community have demanded any belligerent and tension-creating measures be stopped due to the outbreak of the COVID-19," Mousavi said.
According to Fars News Agency, Mousavi said that the US should respect the will of the Iraqi Government and people by leaving the country.
In early January, the Iraqi lawmakers unanimously approved a bill demanding the withdrawal of the US troops from Iraq.
On January 9, former Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Abdul-Mahdi called on the United States to dispatch a delegation to Baghdad tasked with formulating a mechanism for the move.
According to a statement released by his office at the time, Abdul-Mahdi “requested that delegates be sent to Iraq to set the mechanisms to implement the parliament's decision for the secure withdrawal of (foreign) forces from Iraq” in a phone call with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.
The 78-year-old politician said that Iraq rejects violation of its sovereignty, particularly the US military's violation of Iraqi airspace in the airstrike that assassinated former Commander of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) Qods Force Lieutenant General Qassem Soleimani, and former acting Commander of the Iraqi Popular Mobilization Units Forces Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis and their companions.
The US State Department bluntly rejected the request the following day.
*****
112/940