Iran Says No Military Threat Frightens It

Iran’s military power would defuse any threat against the Islamic Republic, a senior military official said on Tuesday, amid a war of words between Iran and Israel.

“The armed forces are delivering their best services and no threat frightens Iran,” Iran’s Armed Forces Chief of Staff, Major General Mohammad Bagheri, was quoted as saying by the state news agency IRNA.

Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, speaking to journalists ahead of his return flight from a trilateral Cypriot-Greek-Israeli summit in Cyprus, said Israel “is not looking for escalation, but is preparing for any scenario.”

“Iran is trying to change the status quo, according to which it does not deploy its army to Syria, and they are declaring the purpose [of the military deployment]. It’s not Islamic State,” Netanyahu said.

On President Trump’s upcoming announcement on the Iran nuclear deal, Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman said, “I do not know what Trump will say tonight; he did not ask our advice.”

But, he added, “If the agreement is canceled, it’s good for Israel.”

Meanwhile, Israel’s National Security Adviser, Meir Ben Shabat, said on Tuesday that Israel has briefed no less than 22 nations on the nuclear archive unveiled in a spectacular presentation last week.

Nevertheless, pressure on Trump to stay in the agreement continued from European and other countries on Tuesday.