“War on Iran Unlikely Given Islamic Republic’s Prowess”

Secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) Ali Shamkhani made the remarks on Saturday amid some reports about Israel’s preparation for military action against Iran with US support.

“As the official in charge of the country’s national security body, I am explicitly and confidently announcing that the possibility of a war [against Iran] is ruled out because of enemies’ assessment of the Islamic Republic’s political strength, its military and security preparedness in domestic and foreign aspects as well as their lack of determination, coherence and operational capability,” Shamkhani added.

He also pointed to US President Donald Trump’s comments about a landmark nuclear agreement signed between Iran and the P5+1 group of countries in 2015 and said any possible success or failure of the deal, officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), which is a political and security agreement endorsed by the United Nations Security Council, would be a “historic test to evaluate the effectiveness of the logic of dialogue instead of conflict.”

It would also test the efficiency of international bodies to solve various conflicts in the world through peaceful approaches, the senior Iranian official added.

“If the current US president does not accept the previous administration’s agreement and commitments, no other country will ever be willing to negotiate or reach an agreement with the US because it is likely that next administrations will also refuse the current administration’s promises,” the SNSC secretary said.

Trump, a long-time critic of the JCPOA, faces a May 12 deadline to decide whether to pull out of the agreement. Trump has repeatedly warned that he might ultimately terminate the agreement reached under his predecessor Barack Obama.

He said on January 12 that he wanted America’s European allies to use the 120-day period before sanctions relief again came up for renewal to agree to tougher measures and new conditions; otherwise Washington would pull out of the deal.

Under the multilateral nuclear agreement, Iran undertook to put limits on its nuclear program in exchange for the removal of nuclear-related sanctions imposed against Tehran.

Trump’s threats against the JCPOA come as the other parties to the agreement have all criticized the US president’s hostile views and said the deal is sound and has proven to be functioning.

French President Emmanuel Macron has warned that a possible US withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal could lead to a war.

In an interview with Der Spiegel, Macron pointed to the US president’s threats to abandon the nuclear agreement and said, “That would mean opening Pandora’s box, it could mean war.”

A senior Iranian lawmaker said on Saturday that any violation of the multilateral nuclear deal would further undermine America’s standing in the world.

“Any violation of or threat to violate the JCPOA by the US will practically tarnish the country’s international credibility and will prove that the US cannot be trusted in the international scene,” Chairman of the Iranian Parliament’s Committee on National Security and Foreign Policy Alaeddin Boroujerdi said.