WarSclerotic

Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif hit back against US President Donald Trump Thursday for escalating the war of words with Tehran and threatening to “obliterate” parts of the Islamic Republic.

In a tweet, Zarif warned that Trump was mistaken in thinking a war between their countries would not last long and accused him of planning a war crime by threatening to strike the country.

“‘Short war’ with Iran is an illusion,” he said, a day after Trump said he does not want a war with Iran but warned that if fighting did break out, it “wouldn’t last very long.”

“Whoever begins war will not be the one ending it,” he warned.

The foreign minister also tweeted that the threat of obliteration was an admission that the US planned “genocide” and a “war crime.”

On Wednesday, Zarif told CNN that Washington “is not in a position to obliterate Iran.”

“I think President Trump should remember that we don’t live in the 18th century. There is a United Nations charter, and threat of wars is illegal,” he told the US network.

On Wednesday, Trump hinted that any conflict would be waged with airstrikes, saying there would be no US boots on the ground.

In an interview on Fox Business Network, Trump was asked if the US was going to go to war with Iran.

“Well, I hope we don’t but we’re in a very strong position if something should happen. We’re in a very strong position,” Trump said.

“It wouldn’t last very long, I can tell you that. And I’m not talking boots on the ground.”

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani speaks during a session of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, June 14, 2019. (AP Photo/Vladimir Voronin)

His remarks came after Iranian President Hassan Rouhani tried to rein in the crisis between the arch-foes, saying that Tehran “never seeks war” with Washington.

Tehran and Washington have engaged in an escalating war of words following Iran’s shooting down of a US surveillance drone over the Persian Gulf last week. Tehran claims the sophisticated $100 million unmanned American aircraft was in its airspace, which Washington vehemently denies.

Trump pulled back from plans to retaliate with military strikes on Iranian targets for downing the drone, saying the response — and the collateral damage — would not be “proportionate.”

But on Monday, he slapped a fresh round of tough sanctions on Iran, including on its supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and top military chiefs.

The new US measures are the latest against Tehran since Trump last year pulled out of the nuclear accord between Iran and world powers.

On Tuesday, Iran warned that the latest US sanctions targeting Khamenei and other officials meant “closing the doors of diplomacy” with Washington.

US President Donald Trump holds up a signed executive order to increase sanctions on Iran, in the Oval Office of the White House, June 24, 2019, in Washington. Trump is accompanied by Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin, left, and Vice President Mike Pence. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

Rouhani derided the White House as being “afflicted by mental retardation.”

He blamed the US for regional tensions and said if Washington had stuck to the deal “we would have witnessed positive developments in the region.”

Iran announced in May it would suspend two of its pledges under the 2015 nuclear deal, giving the agreement’s remaining supporters two months to help it circumvent US sanctions.

European countries that are still a part of the nuclear accord face a July 7 deadline imposed by Tehran to offer a better deal and long-promised relief from US sanctions, or Iran will also begin enriching its uranium closer to weapons-grade levels.

The United Nations says Iran has so far respected the deal’s terms. But Iran has said this week that by Thursday it would have over 300 kilograms (660 pounds) of low-enriched uranium in its possession, which would mean it had broken out of the atomic accord.

PARIS, France (AP) — The United States does not want a full-blown war with Iran, although it still is seeking to build up international defenses in the region just in case of a conflict, US President Donald Trump’s special envoy to the country said Thursday.

The big question is whether other countries are ready to join with Washington. So far, Europe is favoring diplomacy instead.

Iran is poised to surpass a key uranium stockpile threshold, threatening an accord it reached in 2015 with world powers aimed at curbing its nuclear activity. Tehran made no immediate announcement Thursday that it had done so, perhaps waiting to hear what Europe can offer at a meeting Friday to keep the deal alive.

French President Emmanuel Macron is trying to dial back tensions, saying he hopes to convince Trump to open talks with Iran and avoid a war that would engulf the Middle East. The two men are to meet Friday at a Group of 20 summit in Japan.

“There is no brief war,” Macron warned. “We know when it’s starting, but not when it’s finishing.”

French President Emmanuel Macron, left, shakes hands with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe after their joint press conference at Abe’s official residence in Tokyo, June 26, 2019. (AP Photo/Koji Sasahara, pool)

Special Representative for Iran Brian Hook met with top European diplomats Thursday in Paris, and he told The Associated Press that he wants to get tougher on Iran, instead of clinging to the nuclear deal that the US pulled out of last year.

War with Iran is “not necessary,” Hook said in an interview.

“We are not looking for any conflict in the region,” he said. But if the US is attacked, “we will respond with military force.”

To that end, the US is trying to drum up support for an international naval force in Persian Gulf, notably to protect shipping.

“The president would like to see an international response of like-minded countries who could come together and contribute assets that could be used to enhance maritime security in the region,” Hook said.

US President Donald Trump holds up a signed executive order to increase sanctions on Iran, in the Oval Office of the White House, June 24, 2019, in Washington. Trump is accompanied by Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin, left, and Vice President Mike Pence. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

But acting US Defense Secretary Mark Esper, at his first NATO meeting this week, left Brussels with no firm commitments after discussing the idea with US allies.

Tensions have been rising in the Middle East after the US imposed new sanctions on Iran to cripple its economy. Citing unspecified Iranian threats, the US has sent an aircraft carrier to the region and deployed additional troops alongside the tens of thousands already there.

The US has been worried about international shipping through the Strait of Hormuz since tankers were damaged in May and June in what Washington has blamed on limpet mines from Iran, although Tehran denies any involvement. Last week, Iran shot down a US Navy surveillance drone, saying it violated its territory; Washington said it was in international airspace.

Iran recently quadrupled its production of low-enriched uranium as it slowly steps away from the nuclear deal. Even though Trump pulled the US out of it, Britain, France, Germany, Russia and China are still part of the pact.

Iran previously said it would surpass a 300-kilogram stockpile limit set by the accord by Thursday. Tehran made no statements about it, possibly because it was a holiday weekend in the country, but also because it could be waiting for the outcome of a key meeting Friday in Vienna by European officials on the nuclear deal.

Iranian envoy to the UN Majid Takht Ravanchi briefs journalists outside the Security Council on June 24, 2019. (Loey Felipe/UN)

Majid Takht Ravanchi, Iran’s ambassador at the UN, told reporters he didn’t have “any exact information” on whether the limit has been breached.

If his country exceeded limits on low-enriched uranium under the deal, it could be quickly reversed as soon as Tehran sees recovery in its oil and banking sectors, he said, adding that he hopes “tangible results can be achieved” in Vienna “so that we can reverse our decision.”

Ravanchi said Iran isn’t planning to get out of the 2015 agreement.

Hook wouldn’t comment on whether Iran had surpassed the limit, but he estimated that Iran is still at least a year away from building a nuclear weapon. Iran denies that it seeks nuclear weapons.

“That is the standard of the Iran nuclear deal, that Iran should never be able to get to a nuclear weapon in less than a year. This is relevant because Iran still is they still hold the title of the world’s leading state sponsor of terrorism,” he said.

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif sent a letter urging European signatories to the accord to implement their commitments, saying that Iran’s next steps depend on that, Iranian state TV reported Thursday.

Britain, France and Germany are finalizing a complicated barter-type system known as INSTEX to maintain trade with Iran and avoid US sanctions, as part of efforts to keep the nuclear deal afloat.

Hook dismissed those efforts, suggesting that no companies will use such a system because they’d rather trade with the US than Iran.

Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif attends a presser with Iraqi Foreign Minister in the capital Baghdad on May 26, 2019. (SABAH ARAR / AFP)

Instead, he said, “We would like to see the European Union impose sanctions on those people and organizations that are facilitating Iran’s missile program…. If you don’t do sanctions, it also sends a signal of sort of tacit approval.”

He suggested frustration that France has not been more outspoken about Iran recently but played down any “trans-Atlantic rift.”

France is among those seeking to play a mediating role. Macron sent his diplomatic adviser to Tehran last week and spoke to Iranian President Hassan Rouhani this week.

Many in Europe are relieved that Trump did not order military retaliation against Iran last week for the drone shoot-down, but they are rattled that he was close to doing so. It is not clear whether the Trump administration discussed the operation with any European allies ahead of time.

The US announced additional sanctions Monday on Iranian leaders over the drone attack.

Iran’s Zarif criticized Trump on Thursday, tweeting that “sanctions aren’t (an) alternative to war; they ARE war.”

The US has said it may also sanction Zarif, who helped negotiate the 2015 nuclear deal.

Iran said Thursday that its plans to enrich more uranium than allowed under the 2015 nuclear deal should not be regarded as Iran leaving the accord and rendering it void.

UN Ambassador Majid Takht Ravanchi told reporters at a briefing Thursday that if his country exceeds limits on low-enriched uranium, the step can be quickly reversed as soon as Tehran sees recovery in its oil and banking sectors, which have been decimated by US-led sanctions.

Iran said earlier this month it would breach the limit on Thursday in response to the sanctions and an intensifying round of brinkmanship with the US that has set the region on edge.

Ravanchi said he didn’t have “any exact information” on whether the 300-kilogram limit has been breached, although multiple unnamed diplomats have said Iran is poised to surpass the key uranium stockpile threshold by the weekend, threatening the agreement it reached with world powers aimed at curbing its nuclear activity.

Diplomats told the Reuters news agency Thursday that the UN nuclear watchdog had verified Iran has roughly 200 kilograms of low-enriched uranium, and is producing it at a rate of roughly 1 kilogram (2.2 pounds) a day, meaning it will hit the limit of 202.8 kilograms in the coming days.

The nuclear deal caps Iran’s stock of low-enriched uranium at 300 kilograms of uranium hexafluoride, which corresponds to 202.8 kilograms of uranium, according to the UN watchdog, International Atomic Energy Agency.

He also said he hoped that at Friday’s meeting in Vienna of the five parties remaining in the nuclear deal, “tangible results can be achieved so that we can reverse our decision.”

Iranian envoy to the UN Majid Takht Ravanchi briefs journalists outside the Security Council on June 24, 2019. (Loey Felipe/UN)

Ravanchi said Iran wasn’t planning to get out of the 2015 agreement, which the United States left last year.

But he said Iran was “not happy with the Europeans” who are supporting the agreement — Britain, France and Germany — because it has taken so much time to put in operation a program to allow Iran to trade. The three countries said Wednesday they were finalizing a “special purpose vehicle” called INSTEX to facilitate trade while avoiding US sanctions.

US President Donald Trump’s administration has called for dialogue with Iran even as tensions have ratcheted up and it has slapped new financial penalties on the Islamic Republic.

Ravanchi rejected talks and said the US “maximum pressure policy is not designed to prepare for dialogue.”

“They want to act like the older brother telling the younger brother how to behave,” he said. “The right atmosphere” is needed, and right now “it’s an atmosphere of animosity.”

“Sanctions and dialogue are mutually exclusive,” he said.

In this April 9, 2018 file photo, released by an official website of the office of the Iranian Presidency, President Hassan Rouhani listens to explanations on new nuclear achievements at a ceremony to mark “National Nuclear Day,” in Tehran, Iran. (Iranian Presidency Office via AP, File)

Iran’s move to rev up its enrichment has raised alarm among the other signatories — Britain, France, Germany, Russia and China — which have urged it to stick to its commitments.

On Wednesday, Ravanchi told the UN Security Council that Iran cannot “alone” save the nuclear deal.

“Iran alone cannot, shall not and will not take all of the burdens anymore to preserve the JCPOA,” he said, referring to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, as the deal is formally known.

But the Iranian ambassador argued that the US exit from the nuclear deal and the re-imposition of sanctions had rendered the JCPOA “almost fully ineffective.”

Ravanchi insisted that the other signatories, namely Britain, France and Germany, must find a way to compensate Iran.

VIENNA — Senior officials from Iran and the remaining signatories to its 2015 nuclear deal with world powers were gathering in Vienna Friday as tensions in the Persian Gulf simmer and Tehran is poised to surpass a uranium stockpile threshold, posing a threat to the accord.

The regular quarterly meeting of the accord’s so-called joint commission, which brings together senior officials from Iran, France, Germany, Britain, Russia, China and the European Union, is meant to discuss implementation of the deal.

Iran is insisting that it wants to save the agreement and has urged Europeans to start buying Iranian oil or give Iran a credit line.

The 2015 agreement was aimed at curbing Iran’s nuclear ambitions in exchange for relief from economic sanctions. The United States withdrew from the accord last year and has imposed new sanctions on Iran to cripple its economy.

Iran recently quadrupled its production of low-enriched uranium. It previously said it would surpass a 300-kilogram stockpile limit set by the accord by Thursday, but an Iranian official said that it was 2.8 kilograms below that limit Wednesday and there would be no new assessment until “after the weekend.” It is currently a holiday weekend in Iran.

European countries are pressing for Iran to comply in full with the accord. But Iranian officials maintain that even if it surpasses the limit, it would not be breaching the deal, and say such a move could be reversed quickly.

On Thursday, Iranian state television reported that Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif sent a letter urging European signatories to the accord to implement their commitments, saying Iran’s next steps depend on that.

Britain, France and Germany are finalizing a complicated barter-type system known as INSTEX to maintain trade with Iran and avoid U.S. sanctions, as part of efforts to keep the nuclear deal afloat.

The Iranian-backed Palestinian Islamic Jihad terror group suggested Friday it could attack Israel if a war breaks out between the United States and Iran.

Tensions have spiked recently between the US and Iran amid the deepening impact of sanctions tied to US President Donald Trump’s withdrawal from the 2015 international deal meant to curb the Iranian nuclear program.

Since the deployment to the Persian Gulf last month of an American aircraft carrier strike group, the US has accused Iran of orchestrating attacks on tankers sailing in the area, raising concerns over the possibility of a military conflict in the region.

Iran also downed a US military drone last week it said was in its airspace. The US has denied that claim, saying the drone was in international skies, and Trump ultimately decided against launching retaliatory strikes.

“Our action against Israel will remain limited to restituting Palestinian rights like the return of Palestinian refugees, getting Jerusalem back, freeing the detainees and liberating the occupied Palestinian territories,” Al-Monitor quoted an unnamed “prominent leader” in the Gaza-based PIJ as saying.

“But if Israel decides to ally with the US to engage in a military confrontation against Iran, we will take a different stand, which we will reveal in good time.”

The PIJ member said the terror group, which is the second-largest in the Strip, “will not abandon the country that supported it [Iran] in fighting Israel, if that party faces an attack.”

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif (center right) meets with senior Hamas officials in Tehran on August 7, 2017. (screen capture)

Hamas, meanwhile, indicated it was unlikely to intervene in the case of a war between Iran and the US.

“Iran and Hamas have an old political alliance based on Iranian bias to Palestinian rights, but this alliance does not entail Hamas engaging in a war for Iran’s sake,” Yahya Moussa, a member of the Gaza-ruling terror group, told Al-Monitor.

“No military confrontation between Israel and the resistance has ever had foreign goals,” he added. “We don’t have to be dragged into a war with Israel if Iran faces a military attack.”

Since the start of protests on the Gaza border last year, Israel has engaged in numerous rounds of fighting with Hamas and PIJ that have included heavy rocket fire from the Palestinian enclave and retaliatory Israeli strikes.

Last month, the leader of Hamas in Gaza thanked Iran for providing his terror group with rockets it used to strike deep into Israel.

“Had it not been for Iran, the resistance in Palestine would not have possessed its current capabilities,” Yahya Sinwar said at the time.

Israel has long charged Iran with trying to arm Palestinian terror groups in Gaza and maintains a blockade of the Strip to try and stop the import of sophisticated weapons systems.

IDF soldiers inspect a missile found on board the Klos-C in a commando operation on Wednesday, March 5, 2014. The military says the ship was carrying an Iranian arms shipment headed for Gaza. (IDF)

Earlier this month, the chief of Israel’s Military Intelligence addressed the prospect of war in the Gaza Strip, saying that Hamas is not interested in a large-scale conflict. But he added that the PIJ had far fewer responsibilities toward Gaza residents and thus less to lose in a war, making it a far likelier instigator of violence.

“Hamas is quite deterred from war and is deeply interested in staying the course of a ceasefire in which they expect to receive certain concessions — and therefore they really don’t want a war,” he said.

“The Islamic Jihad has a high potential of volatility. This group does not have the duties of a sovereign and so there is a potential for it to initiate [war],” Maj Gen. Tamir Hayman said.

Hezbollah, an Iranian-backed terror group in Lebanon, has also indicated it could get involved if there is a war between the US and Iran.