If Israel and the US were to attack Iran again, they would ‘face a more decisive response’, Pezeshkian warns.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian says that the United States, Israel and Europe are waging a “full-fledged war” against his country.
“In my opinion, we are in a full-fledged war with America, Israel and Europe. They do not want our country to stand on its feet,” Pezeshkian told the official site of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in an interview on Saturday.
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The president’s remarks come ahead of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s meeting on Monday with US President Donald Trump. They also come six months after Israel and the US launched strikes on Iran, and after France, Germany and the United Kingdom reimposed United Nations sanctions on Iran in September over its nuclear programme.
“Our dear military forces are doing their jobs with strength, and now, in terms of equipment and manpower, despite all the problems we have, they are stronger than when they [Israel and the US] attacked,” Pezeshkian said.
“So, if they want to attack, they will naturally face a more decisive response.”
The president said that “this war” is unlike past ones.
“This war is worse than Iraq’s war against us. If one understands it well, this war is far more complex and difficult than that war,” Pezeshkian said, referring to the 1980-1988 conflict between the neighbouring countries in which thousands were killed.
The US and its allies accuse Iran of seeking to acquire nuclear weapons, a claim Tehran has repeatedly denied.
Israel and Iran engaged in a 12-day war in June, triggered by an unprecedented Israeli attack on Iranian military and nuclear sites, as well as civilian areas.
The strikes caused more than 1,000 casualties, according to Iranian authorities.
The US later joined the Israeli operation, bombing three Iranian nuclear sites.
Washington’s involvement brought a halt to negotiations with Tehran, which began in April, over its nuclear programme.
Since returning to the White House in January, US President Donald Trump has revived his so-called “maximum pressure” policy against Iran, initiated during his first term.
That has included additional sanctions designed to economically cripple the country and dry up its oil revenues from sales on the global market.
According to recent reports, when Netanyahu visits Trump at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida this weekend, he will be pushing for more military actions against Iran, this time focusing on Tehran’s missile programme.
