Any military attack on Iran will result in a serious military conflict, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif has warned, as the US and Saudi Arabia hint at retaliatory measures for a drone strike they blame on Tehran.
“I am making a very serious statement that we don’t want war; we don’t want to engage in a military confrontation… But we won’t blink to defend our territory,” Zarif told CNN in an interview on Thursday.
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Zarif told the network that any military strike based on the false premise that Iran was behind the recent attack on a Saudi oil facility would cause “a lot of casualties” lead to “all-out war.”
‘AN ALL OUT WAR’
Iranian FM Zarif said in response to CNN’s question about the consequences of an American or Saudi military strike on #Iran. @JZarif pic.twitter.com/bJ9OOyyI4u
— Press TV (@PressTV) September 19, 2019
His remarks come as Washington and Riyadh ratchet up their rhetoric aimed at Iran, following a suspected drone and missile attack on a major Saudi oil facility. The kingdom has claimed that Iranian-made weapons were used in the strike, but Tehran has denied any involvement. The Houthi rebels in Yemen, currently trying to repel a Saudi-led invasion, have claimed responsibility for the operation.
Featured image: A marine from Iran takes part in the International Army Games 2019 at the at Khmelevka firing ground on the Baltic Sea coast in Kaliningrad Region, Russia August 5, 2019. © REUTERS/Vitaly Nevar
