Tehran- Iran has told world powers it wishes to avoid conflict but a recent show of force by the United States military in the region could escalate tensions, ahead of the first anniversary of top Iranian commander Qassem Soleimani’s assassination.
In a letter to the United Nations Security Council on Thursday, Iran condemned “military adventurism” in the Gulf and the Sea of Oman, and “fake information, baseless accusations and threatening rhetoric” by Washington against Tehran.
“If left unchecked, these warmongering acts could increase tensions to an alarming level and it is obvious that the full responsibility of all its repercussions will be on the US,” the letter said.
Iran said it does not want conflict, but promised to defend its people and the national security. It also called on the UNSC to make the US stop its “illegal” acts.
In the past month, American B-52 strategic bombers have flown over the Gulf several times, the latest of which came on Wednesday. The US said the aim has been to deter a potential Iranian response ahead of the January 3 anniversary of Soleimani’s killing.
The top general, who led the foreign operations arm of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, was killed alongside a top Iraqi commander and several others on that day last year in Baghdad in a drone strike ordered by US President Donald Trump.
Earlier in December, Trump tweeted an image of several rockets, saying they were unexploded Iranian rockets fired on the US embassy in Baghdad’s Green Zone.
Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif on Thursday said information out of Iraq shows the US is trying to “fabricate pretext for war”.
In a phone call with his Kuwaiti counterpart Nasser Al-Mohammad Al-Sabah on Friday morning, Zarif said Washington will be responsible for the repercussions of any “potential adventurism”. Meanwhile, the Pentagon announced on Thursday it will send home its only Navy aircraft carrier operating in the Middle East, which appears to run counter to the idea that a show of force is needed to deter Iran. (Aljazeera)