Iranian President Warns: A War With Tehran Would be the 'Mother of All Wars'
The statement comes amid increasing tensions between Washington and Iran, as US President Donald Trump authorised sanctions in June on officials associated with Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Hosseini Khamenei. The decision was followed by the US slapping sanctions on Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif.
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has warned that a possible war against Iran would be the "mother of all wars", while peace with Tehran is "the mother of all peace".
In a speech broadcast live on state-run TV on Tuesday, Rouhani also reiterated Tehran's readiness to sit down with Washington if it scraps all the sanctions against Iran.
“The Islamic Republic of Iran favours talks and negotiations and, if the US really wants to talk, before anything else it should lift all sanctions,” he underscored.
Separately, Rouhani commented on the situation around Iran detaining the British tanker Stena Impero near the Strait of Hormuz on 19 July over alleged maritime violations, a few weeks after Royal Marines seized the Iranian oil tanker Grace 1 near the Strait of Gibraltar after the vessels allegedly violated EU sanctions.
“A strait for a strait. It can’t be that the Strait of Hormuz is free for you and the Strait of Gibraltar is not free for us,” Rouhani underscored.
The statement comes a few weeks after Rouhani signalled Iran’s willingness to hold negotiations with the US.
“We are always ready for negotiation. I tell you this hour and this moment to abandon bullying and lift the sanctions and return to logic and wisdom. We are ready," Rouhani pointed out
He added that Iran had shifted its approach from “strategic patience” to “reciprocal action” and would respond in kind to any of Washington’s steps related to the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, also known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).
- Source : Sputnik News
