Iran will respond to “any enemy action”, warned on Saturday the leader of the Revolutionary Guards, the ideological army of Iran, in reference to the growing tensions with the United States , during an inspection of the troops stationed on a key island in the Gulf. “We are here today to ensure our naval power against the enemies who boast and threaten us,” Major General Hossein Salami said on Abu Moussa Island, according to Sepahnews, the official Guardians website. of the revolution. “We will respond with the same force to any action of the enemy against us, ”he said. Tensions between the United States and Iran have risen as the anniversary of the assassination of the powerful Iranian General Qassem Soleimani, head of external operations of the Guardians, was killed by a strike American in Baghdad on January 3 2015 . Iran then retaliated by firing missiles at Iraqi bases housing American soldiers.
“A pretext” to start “a war”
At the end of November, the American aircraft carrier USS Nimitz deployed in the Gulf, and two American B bombers – 31 flew over the region on December in a show of force. According to New York Times , US Defense Secretary Christopher Miller has since ordered the return of the Nimitz. A “de-escalation” signal sent to Tehran to avoid a conflict writes the American daily, citing an official. On Thursday, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif accused outgoing US President Donald Trump of trying to fabricate “a pretext” to launch “a war” before his departure the 20 January of the White House, after a mandate during which he led a campaign of “maximum pressure” against Tehran. In addition, Iran has informed the International Atomic Energy Agency of its desire to produce enriched uranium at 20 %,
well beyond the threshold set by the agreement from Vienna from 2015, did we learn on Friday with the UN agency. “Iran has informed the Agency of its intention to enrich uranium at a rate of up to 10% in the Fordo underground factory, in order to comply with a law recently passed by the Iranian Parliament ” , a spokesperson told AFP. The letter, dated 20 December, “did not specify when this enrichment activity would be implemented.”