Iran: US Military Buildup in Middle East Threatening Global Peace, Security

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif lashed out at Washington for its decision to dispatch additional troops to the Middle East, describing the move as "extremely dangerous" for international peace and security.

News ID: 445061

Date: 26 May 2019 - 17:21

RNA - "Increased US presence in our region is extremely dangerous and it threatens international peace and security, and this should be addressed," Zarif told the Islamic news agency on Saturday, a day after US President Donald Trump said he was sending some 1500 troops to the region for "mostly protective" reasons.

The flip-flopping US president announced the decision only a day after he said he did not think additional American troops were needed in the Mideast.

Zarif said that the US is leveling baseless allegations against Iran to justify its aggressive policy towards the Islamic Republic.

Tensions have escalated since the US sent an aircraft carrier and B-52 bombers to the region in response to intelligence reports suggesting an imminent attack.

Iran has dismissed the alleged intelligence as fake and slammed the deployments as a psychological warfare.

“The Americans have made such allegations to justify their hostile policies and to raise tensions in the Persian Gulf," Zarif said.

Trump on Friday cited “threats from Iran” to justify the sale of billions of dollars’ worth of weapons to Saudi Arabia, the UAE and other countries without congressional approval.

Since taking office, the president has expressed an array of conflicting positions toward Iran, ranging from wanting dialogue with Tehran to threatening the country "the official end".

Earlier on Saturday, Zarif said that quite contrary to what US President Donald Trump said it is Iran that will see the end of Trump.

Asked by a reporter about Trump’s offensive remarks against Iran and the Iranian nation, Foreign Minister Zarif said on Friday Iran has been around for thousands of years and will continue to stand, and a country that has newly arrived on the block has no right to talk about Iran like that.

Last week, Trump had tweeted, “If Iran wants to fight, that will be the official end of Iran.” That tweet came unprovoked, and was the latest in a series of abusive remarks by the 45th president of the United States against Iran. On Thursday, Trump also called Iran “a nation of terror.”

Commenting on Trump’s remarks, Zarif said that that they reflected the real attitude of the US president toward the Iranian people, as opposed to his more usual claims that his administration cared about the Iranian people.

The Iranian diplomatic chief said Trump was attempting to impose his political view on Iran through economic sanctions, including with sanctions on food and medicine. That is terrorism, he said.

The label “terrorist” is thus only befitting of the US president himself, he said.

Trump unilaterally pulled the US out of a multilateral deal with Iran last year. His administration has been imposing sanctions on the country ever since. The US president claims he wants another deal with the Islamic Republic and has said he is ready to negotiate.

Iran has rejected the prospect of talks with America until it changes its approach.

On Monday, Zarif blasted US President Donald Trump for his threats against Iran, stressing ineffectiveness of Washington's attempts to defeat the country.

Zarif in furious response reacted to Trump's recent threat on twitter that a fight with the US would be the "official end of Iran" if Iran wants to fight, replying in a tweet that the US president is "goaded by B-Team (John Bolton, the US national security advisor, Bibi, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, and Abu Dhabi’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed)".

He added that Trump "hopes to achieve what Alexander, Genghis and other aggressors failed to do (against Iran)", adding that Iranians have stood tall for millennia while aggressors (have) all gone.

Zarif underlined that "economic terrorism and genocidal taunts won't end Iran", saying, "Never threaten an Iranian. Try respect — it works!"

As the US administration seeks to intimidate Tehran into talks, Iranians have remained adamant, stressing that no war is in the offing although the country's military forces are fully ready to provide a crushing response in defense if they ever come under strike.

Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei told a gathering of senior Iranian officials that he saw no possibility of war between Tehran and Washington, adding that the recent US military buildup in the region only aimed at frightening Iran to yield to the White House demands, but Iran stands strong.

Addressing the heads of the country’s executive, judiciary, and legislative branches as well as other senior officials, parliamentarians, and important figures in the country’s political, social, and cultural spheres earlier this month, Ayatollah Khamenei ruled out the possibility of war between the United States and Iran despite heightened tensions between the two sides, saying Washington knows engaging in such a conflict would not be in its interest.

The Leader further said any confrontation between the US and Iran would not be “a military one,” and that “there was not going to be any war”.

“The Iranian nation’s definite option will be resistance in the face of the US, and in this confrontation, the US would be forced into a retreat,” Ayatollah Khamenei said. “Neither we nor they, who know war will not be in their interest, are after war.”

Ayatollah Khamenei further explained that the confrontation between the two sides is “a clash of wills,” asserting that Iran would be the ultimate victor of this battle.

The Leader ruled out any negotiation with the US as long as Washington sticks with its hostile approach against the Islamic Republic, saying Washington would be attempting to undermine Iran’s “points of strength,” such as its defensive power or its strategic regional influence, in any such interaction.

As an example, Ayatollah Khamenei said, “They (Americans) say we should negotiate over your (Iran’s) defensive weapons, (questioning) why do you build (for instance) a missile with a given range. Reduce the range (of your missiles, they say,) so you would not be able to hit our bases.”

The Leader further played down Washington’s highly belligerent rhetoric against Iran, saying its real capability did not match its loud bluster, and that it “needs to engage in (such bluster).”

According to Fars News Agancy, Ayatollah Khamenei said Washington gives priority to Israel’s interests over the benefits of all others, adding, “The control of many affairs rests in the hands of the Zionist society.”

The Leader pointed to the absence of integrity in the US administration, noting how various American officials contradict each other on a daily basis. The American society, he added, is also afflicted with rampant socioeconomic problems and violence.

Ayatollah Khamenei, meanwhile, also highlighted how Washington’s policies regarding Europe and Asia had backfired.

“In (its) policy of confrontation with the Islamic Republic too, the US will definitely suffer defeat, and (the situation) will end up to our benefit,” the Leader said, citing warnings by American analysts that Washington’s pressure on Tehran would, contrary to its intended purpose, trigger an “economic mutation”.

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