Iranian FM: ‘Crazy’ US or Israeli attack on nuke sites won’t happen

Trump said he hoped that Israel would not attack Iran’s nuclear faculties but appeared to suggest that this was a possibility if the Islamic Republic does not accept a deal on its nuclear program.

By Akiva Van Koningsveld, JNS

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on Tuesday that he does not believe that the United States or Israel will attack Tehran’s nuclear facilities, calling the idea “really crazy” in an interview with Sky News Arabia.

“This is not a new threat. And they know that this is not a real threat,” the Iranian diplomat told the U.K. broadcaster. “They know our capabilities to respond, and we have made it clear that any attack to our nuclear facilities would be faced with an immediate and decisive response.”

He continued: “I don’t think that they will do that crazy thing. This is really crazy,” adding that a strike inside the Islamic Republic would immediately turn the entire region into “a very bad disaster.”

While Iran was prepared to listen to U.S. President Donald Trump, “lots of things should be done by the other side” for Tehran to commit to negotiating a new nuclear deal with Washington, he said.

“There should be enough confidence for Iran to once again engage into negotiations, and I think we are still a bit far from that—as I said, we are waiting to hear. Yes, to have a deal is nice, of course, but what kind of a deal?” said the Iranian diplomat.

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“Diplomacy is based on hopes. So we never lose our hopes for any diplomatic effort and for any initiative.”

Asked by Sky News about concerns regarding the Islamic regime’s threats to pursue an “alternative course” if diplomacy with the United States failed, Araghchi claimed he did not know what Tehran would do.

“We tried the path of negotiations and confidence-building in our peaceful nuclear program,” he said, echoing the Islamic Republic’s oft-repeated claim that it has ramped up uranium enrichment for civilian purposes only. “But then it turned into a bad experience. Sanctions came back. So what is the alternative? I don’t know,” he added.

He claimed that there was an ongoing “hot debate” inside Iran “at all levels” regarding what the nation should do if nuclear diplomacy fails.

Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, 85, is believed to have the final say on whether or not the country accepts a nuclear agreement.

Trump on Jan. 23 said he hoped that Israel would not attack Iran’s nuclear faculties, but appeared to suggest that this was a possibility if the Islamic Republic does not accept a deal on its nuclear program.

“We’ll have to see. I’m going to be meeting with various people over the next couple of days. Hopefully, that can be worked out without having to worry about it,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office when asked about the possibility of an Israeli strike, according to a readout.

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“It would really be nice if that could be worked out without having to go that further step. Hopefully, that can be worked out. Iran hopefully will make a deal, and if they don’t make a deal, I guess that’s OK too,” he said.

During his first term in 2018, Trump pulled the United States out of the 2015 JCPOA nuclear agreement with Iran and stepped up sanctions on the regime in Tehran. The deal offered Iran sanctions relief in exchange for its promise to dial back its nuclear program for a maximum of 10 years.

Before he began his second term as president, Trump said he planned to renew his “maximum pressure” campaign on Iran, including by issuing punishing sanctions and targeting Tehran’s oil revenue.

Britain’s The Daily Telegraph cited anonymous Iranian government officials as saying over the weekend that the Islamic regime regards Trump’s return to the White House as “an existential threat.”

“In Iraq and Yemen, [Iranian proxy] forces have been told not to target any American assets, and if they do, they are explicitly warned against using Iranian weapons,” the senior official told the daily. “They have been told to keep defensive positions for a while and to avoid any actions that might provoke the Americans.”

Araghchi in the interview with Sky News Arabia on Tuesday confirmed that the Islamic Republic regards Trump’s second term as commander-in-chief as “different and much more difficult than the previous time.”

Commenting on Trump’s suggestion to allow Palestinians to leave Gaza and build a life somewhere else, primarily in other Arab nations, the diplomat told Sky News that “Palestinians cannot be expelled.”

“My suggestion is something else: Instead of Palestinians, try to expel Israelis. Take them to Greenland, so they can kill two birds with one stone,” he said, referencing Trump’s plans to purchase the territory.

Araghchi dismissed the assassination of Iranian-backed Hezbollah terrorist leader Hassan Nasrallah by Israel, as well as the fall of allied dictator Bashar Assad in Syria, as “things that happen in the world.”

Switching to Farsi, he said that while “the resistance has been rendered several serious blows, we have to know that resistance is a school of thought; a cause that is still alive, it is still there and is still breathing.”

“It is true that Hamas and Hezbollah have been damaged,” Araghchi acknowledged. “At the same time, they are rebuilding themselves,” he said, vowing that the two Iranian-backed groups will “always be there.”

Earlier this month, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian denied to NBC that Tehran had suffered major defeats during recent conflicts, in which Israel incapacitated its strongest proxy, Hezbollah, in Lebanon.

“We’re more coherent, we’re more robust, we have better participation, we have a more solid security in the country,” the Iranian president claimed in a rare interview with the American television network.

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