A senior Iranian official said on Friday that Tehran would interpret any military offensive “as a total war against us”. Reuters.
The defiant statement precedes the planned arrival of a United States aircraft carrier strike group and additional military equipment in the Middle East.
“This military build-up – we hope it is not meant for a real confrontation – but our military is prepared for the worst case scenario. That’s why everything in Iran is on high alert,” a senior Iranian official said. Reuters. “This time, we will consider any attack – limited, unlimited, surgical, kinetic, whatever they call it – as a total war against us and we will respond in the strongest possible way to settle it,” the official added.
US President Donald Trump confirmed on Thursday that a naval “armada” was advancing towards the region. While expressing a desire to avoid direct conflict, he reiterated strong warnings to Iran’s leadership regarding the crackdown on protesters and any possible resumption of their nuclear development activities.
“We have a huge fleet heading that way, and we may not have to use it,” Trump said aboard Air Force One.
While the United States military often deploys reinforcements to the Middle East as a deterrent during the spawning season, these maneuvers are generally characterized as defensive. However, a similar large-scale mobilization took place last year and served as a precursor to June’s military strikes against Iran’s nuclear infrastructure.
“If the Americans violate Iran’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, we will respond,” an Iranian official said.
“The country under constant military threat from the United States has no choice but to ensure that everything at its disposal can be used to push back and if possible rebalance against anyone who dares to attack Iran,” the official said.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards commander says his forces have ‘trigger finger’
Iranian paramilitary unit Revolutionary Guarda force that was key to suppressing recent nationwide protests and an intervention that left thousands deadis “more ready than ever, finger on the trigger,” her commander said Saturday.
Nournewsa news channel close to Iran’s Supreme National Security Council reported on its Telegram channel that the commander, General Mohammad Pakpour, had warned the US and Israel “to avoid any miscalculation”.
“The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and dear Iran are ready more than ever, with their finger on the trigger, to carry out the orders and orders of the Commander-in-Chief,” Nournews Pakpour was quoted as saying.
