Media Wire

‘All-Out War’ to Break Out in Case of US, Saudi attack: Zarif

Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif has warned of an "all out war" in the event of US or Saudi military strikes and that Saudi Arabia would have to fight "to the last American soldier."

In an exclusive interview with CNN, Zarif said Iran hoped to avoid conflict, adding that the country was willing to talk to its regional rivals Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

However, the possibility of a return to negotiations with the US would not happen unless Washington provided full sanctions relief as promised under the 2015 nuclear deal, the top diplomat said.

He again denied Tehran’s involvement in weekend attacks on Saudi Arabia’s oil facilities, which dramatically ratcheted up tensions in the region this week.

Zarif said Yemen’s Houthi fighters, who claimed responsibility for the attack, have stepped up their military capabilities and are capable of conducting a sophisticated operation such as the one that knocked out half of the kingdom’s energy production.

“I cannot have any confidence that they did it because we just heard their statement,” said Zarif. “I know that we didn’t do it. I know that the Houthis made a statement that they did it.”

Asked what the consequence of a US or Saudi military strike on Iran would be, Zarif said, “All-out war.”

“I make a very serious statement about defending our country. I am making a very serious statement that we don’t want to engage in a military confrontation,” said Zarif.

He added that a military response based on “deception” about the weekend attacks would cause “a lot of casualties.”

“But we won’t blink to defend our territory,” he said.

IFP Media Wire

Reports and views published in the Media Wire section have been retrieved from other news agencies and websites, and do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the Iran Front Page (IFP) news website. The IFP may change the headlines of the reports in a bid to make them compatible with its own style of covering Iran News, and does not make any changes to the content. The source and URL of all reports and news stories are mentioned at the bottom of each article.

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