Iranian Commander Lambastes US over Military Rhetoric
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Commander of the Iranian Army Ground Force took a swipe at US officials for making threat of military action against Iran, warning those mulling any aggression to be ready to take the consequences of any possible encounter with the Iranian armed forces.
Speaking to reporters in Tehran on Tuesday, Brigadier General Ahmad Reza Pourdastan said the United States' officials must be ignorant of the capabilities of the Islamic Republic's Army to make threats against Iran.
He said the talk of military option against Iran immediately after finalizing the text of a nuclear agreement between Tehran and the Group 5+1 (Russia, China, the US, Britain, France and Germany) demonstrates that American officials are not trustworthy at all.
"We do not seek a war, but if a country intends to test the capabilities of our Army and (other) Armed Forces, it should know that there will be no hit-and-run. They may start (a war), but they will not end the story," he underlined.
While Iran and the six powers finalized the text of a lasting deal on Tehran's nuclear program on July 14, US officials have not stopped making provocative comments about military action against Iran.
The White House said on Friday that military options remain available regarding Iran, but "the administration is pursuing diplomacy first."
White House spokesman Josh Earnest claimed the nuclear agreement with Iran would actually enhance Washington's potential military options if Iran violates the compact.
US Defense Secretary Ashton B. Carter on Sunday said, "... one of the reasons this deal is a good one is that it does nothing to prevent the military option… which we are preserving and continually improving."
Back in May, Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei reaffirmed that the Iranian nation will not let any possible act of aggression against the country go unanswered.
The Leader said he has already made it clear, even in the tenure of former US president, that "the era of hit and run has ended", and that the Iranian nation will chase aggressors.
In relevant comments on July 18, Iranian Army Commander Major General Ataollah Salehi underscored the high level of Iranian Armed Forces' preparedness, and said the US is living in a dream world if it thinks it would be able to face Iran militarily.
