Iran Warns a Renewed War With the US Would Last Longer
Seven Lights
Iran warned on Sunday that a new war with the United States would last longer than the last, a day after President Trump threatened to give Tehran “the hammer” and declared he could destroy what remains of the country’s nuclear infrastructure “in 10 minutes.”
“The US and Israel started the war and its continuation is in neither of our hands,” an Iranian government spokesperson, Akraminia, said in a statement carried by Iranian media. “If the aggressor once again commits a mistake, the war will last much longer than the last war.”
Mr Trump made his remarks at a campaign rally in Des Moines, Iowa, on Saturday. “The only reason I’m not done with Iran yet is because I want to be nice,” he said. “But at some point we’ll have to give them the hammer.” He said the United States could knock out “one or two sites, in 10 minutes,” naming the Pickaxe Mountain enrichment facility near Natanz, which Israeli strikes failed to destroy last year.
Axios reported that Mr Trump spoke with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Saturday, and that US and Israeli officials said the two discussed the possibility of strikes.
The war, which began on February 28 with US and Israeli strikes on Iran, ended in a truce but has left the region unsettled. Iran retaliated with missiles and drones, and its proxies in Lebanon and Yemen joined the attacks. Qatari mediators met Iranian leaders last week in an effort to return both sides to the negotiating table.
Tensions were sharpened on Sunday when a missile strike hit a Qatar-owned liquefied natural gas carrier bound for Pakistan near the Strait of Hormuz, the second attack on a Qatari gas vessel in three days. The strike was reportedly carried out with Iran’s knowledge.
With US midterm elections due on Tuesday, Mr Trump has sought to avoid inflaming the conflict, while Qatari mediation has not produced a clear path back to talks. Iranian officials repeated that Tehran would answer any renewed attack.