Tension is increasing between Iran and America. Since the recent protests in Iran, America has been continuously warning Iran. Recently, while returning from Davos, President Trump had also said that a big army of ours is going towards Iran. Meanwhile, Iran has also retaliated. The India-based representative of Iran's supreme leader said on Friday that the rhetoric coming from Washington has no impact on Iran and it is ready for any outcome.
He was reacting to US President Donald Trump's statement in which he had said that if anything happens to him, Iran can be wiped off the map. In an interview, India-based representative of Iran's supreme leader Abdul Majeed Hakim Elahi hit back at Trump's statement and said, this statement is not new. We are also prepared for every situation.
Elahi said the statement came amid rising tensions between Washington and Tehran, including US criticism of nationwide protests in Iran and warnings of strong retaliation for alleged threats. On Tuesday, Trump had warned that if assassination threats from Iranian leaders continued, Iran would be destroyed.
Trump has also expressed the possibility of military attacks against Iran and has talked about ending the 37-year-old rule of Iran's supreme leader. He said that the time has come to search for new leadership in Iran. After this, American media reports said that the Pentagon has redeployed a carrier strike group to the US Central Command area, which also includes the Middle East.
Responding to the escalating tension, Elahi reiterated the country's stance on Iran's nuclear program. He said that Tehran has never tried to make nuclear weapons and it only uses nuclear energy for peaceful purposes.
Elahi said, Iran never wants nuclear weapons because it is haram. Cited the religious order (fatwa) issued by Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. He said that Iran's nuclear activities are focused on treatment, energy production and humanitarian needs.
Elahi also accused double standards in international monitoring. He said that Iran faces sanctions and strict scrutiny, whereas other nuclear capable countries are not put under such pressure. He also said that last year Israel and America had targeted Iran's nuclear facilities.
Despite tensions, Elahi said Iran wants stability and warned that further conflict would harm the entire region. He said, we want peace and security, but some people do not want this.
On criticism of internet shutdown in Iran during the protests, Elahi said that this step was taken to restore peace. Iran shut down the international internet because we wanted to bring peace. But, we have local internet and it is working. He rejected claims that the demonstrations were foreign-directed, but accused some protesters of resorting to violence.
Elahi also criticized international organizations and said that some organizations have lost their influence and are under the control of powerful countries. When asked about the emergency meeting called by the United Nations, he said, actually we can say that some international organizations have lost their influence in the world and some of them are controlled by some countries. We hope that international organizations will fulfill their responsibilities and do only what is in the interest of people and countries.
