Iranian FM warns US against attack on nuclear sites

Previously, Araqchi said that he does not believe that the United States or Israel will attack Tehran’s nuclear facilities, calling the idea ‘really crazy.’

By JNS

An attack on the Islamic Republic’s nuclear facilities will lead to “all-out war in the region,” Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi told Al Jazeera in an interview broadcast on Friday.

The minister issued a warning to Washington, saying that if it launches an attack with Israel against the nuclear sites, it would be “one of the biggest historical mistakes the U.S. could make.”

According to Reuters, the decision makers in Tehran fear that the Trump administration will “empower” Jerusalem to strike Iran’s nuclear sites—many deep underground—coupled with further tightening of U.S. sanctions on the Islamic Republic’s oil industry.

Reuters added that these concerns, coming against the backdrop of dire economic conditions angering the Iranian public, could prompt the mullahs to enter into talks with Washington over its advanced nuclear program.

Iran’s foreign minister said that unblocking Iranian financial assets could serve as a bridge for future negotiations with the U.S.

“Iranian assets and funds have been frozen at various points by the U.S., [which] has not fulfilled its previous pledges [to free them]. These things can be done by the U.S. administration in order to bring confidence between us,” Araqchi was quoted as saying.

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He made similar remarks in an interview with Sky News Arabia on Tuesday.

Araqchi said that he does not believe that the United States or Israel will attack Tehran’s nuclear facilities, calling the idea “really crazy.”

Speaking to the broadcaster, a joint venture of the U.K.-based Sky Group and the United Arab Emirates-based International Media Investments (IMI) corporation, he said, “This is not a new threat. And they know that this is not a real threat. 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.”

Araqchi 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.”

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

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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.

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