Iran’s top military commander warned Sunday that any US war against Tehran would serve as “a lesson” for President Donald Trump, as tensions continue to simmer in the region.
Major General Abdolrahim Mousavi, Chief of Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces, said that the US president should understand he would be entering “a lesson-giving battle.”
Trump said on Friday that regime change in Iran “would be the best thing that could happen,” as tensions escalate amid the deployment of a second US aircraft carrier to the Middle East.
He announced that the USS Gerald R. Ford, described as the world’s largest aircraft carrier, would soon head to the region in case ongoing talks between Washington and Tehran fail.
“In case we don’t make a deal, we’ll need it,” he said. “It’ll be leaving very soon.”
Rising tensions
The USS Abraham Lincoln and a fleet of destroyers are already stationed in the Gulf region, having been dispatched last month amid rising tensions between the two countries.
Mousavi described Trump’s comments as “unworthy of a president” and “reckless.”
He said that if Trump intends to wage war, he should not speak of “negotiations,” referring to the ongoing nuclear diplomacy between the two sides that resumed earlier this month.
The latest round of nuclear talks was held in Oman on February 6, more than eight months after the Iran-Israel war put the diplomacy on the backburner.
Diplomatic channels
Türkiye and other regional states recently intervened to help ease tensions and revive the diplomatic channels, particularly after Trump threatened to use military action against Iran.
The next round of talks is scheduled for Tuesday in Geneva, according to Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister Majid Takht-Ravanchi, who confirmed the meeting in an interview on Sunday.
He said Washington must demonstrate its commitment to reaching an agreement aimed at resolving the nuclear issue.
“The ball is in America’s court,” he said. “If they are sincere, I’m sure we will be on the road to an agreement.”
