Tehran Says Any U.S. Provocation Will Be Met With “Fiercest” Response
IRAN NEWS NATIONAL DESK
TEHRAN – The chairman of the Chiefs of Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces says the country will show the most severe reaction to the United States if it does anything to undermine the security of the Islamic Republic.
“If [Americans] take the smallest step against the security of our country, they will be faced with the most severe reaction,” Major General Mohammad Baqeri said on Thursday in allusion to recent steps taken by the U.S. military in neighboring Iraq, which have been seen by many experts as a prelude to a possible U.S. attack on Popular Mobilization Units (PMU) in the Arab country.
“The recent days have witnessed an increase, to some extent, in the U.S.’ military activities across Iraq and the Persian Gulf,” he said.
“On the psychological and media fronts too, they (Americans) are engaged in massive dissemination of news denoting that they have plans against resistance groups in Iraq and Hashd al-Sha’abi,” the Iranian general said in reference to the PMU anti-terror fighting force by its Arabic name, adding, “We are completely monitoring such activities”.
On Wednesday, U.S. President Donald Trump claimed that Iran was about to launch an attack on U.S. troops or American “assets” in Iraq, waring, “If this happens, Iran will pay a very heavy price, indeed.”
The United States is continuing threats against Iran even as the country battles the coronavirus pandemic despite Washington’s illegal sanctions.
Elsewhere in his remarks, General Baqeri referred to the actions taken against American bases across Iraq over the past recent weeks as “the Iraqi people’s and resistance forces’ natural reaction to the sinister assassinations carried out by Americans” in the Arab country in early January.
Meanwhile on Thursday, a top military aide to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei cautioned the United States of consequences of “provocative actions” in Iraq, Iranian news agencies reported.
“We advise U.S. politicians and military to take responsibility for the consequences of their provocative actions (in Iraq),” General Yahya Rahim Safavi said, quoted by the semi-official news agency Tasnim. “Any U.S. action will mark an even larger strategic failure in the current president’s record.”
Rahim Safavi made the comments hours before U.S. President Donald Trump said that Iran or its proxies planned a sneak attack on U.S. targets in Iraq and warned they would pay a “very heavy price” but gave no details.
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