Iranian army chief Amir Hatami yesterday warned the United States and Israel against an attack, saying his country’s forces were on high alert following Washington’s heavy military deployments in the Gulf.
He also insisted the Islamic republic’s nuclear expertise could not be eliminated, after Trump said he expected Tehran to seek a deal to avoid US strikes.
“If the enemy makes a mistake, without a doubt it will endanger its own security, the security of the region, and the security of the Zionist regime,” Hatami said, according to the official IRNA news agency.
He noted that Iran’s armed forces were “at full defensive and military readiness”.
Meanwhile, at least one person was killed and 14 injured in an explosion in the southern Iranian port of Bandar Abbas yesterday, a local official told Iranian news agencies, but the cause of the blast was not known.
Iranian media said the blast was under investigation but provided no further information.
Separately, four people were killed after a gas explosion in the city of Ahvaz near the Iraqi border, according to state-run Tehran Times. No further information was immediately available.
Two Israeli officials told Reuters that Israel was not involved in yesterday’s blasts, which come amid heightened tensions between Tehran and Washington over Iran’s crackdown on nationwide protests and over the country’s nuclear programme.
Washington sent a naval strike group to the Middle East led by the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier, with Trump threatening to intervene militarily after a deadly crackdown by Iranian authorities on two weeks of anti-government protests.
The deployment has raised fears of a possible direct confrontation with Iran, which has warned it would respond with missile strikes on US bases, ships and allies -- notably Israel -- in the event of an attack.
On Friday, Trump said he predicted that Iran would seek to negotiate a deal over its nuclear and missile programmes rather than face American military action.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi had said earlier that Tehran was ready for nuclear talks, but its missiles and defense “will never be negotiated”.
On Friday, the United States approved multibillion-dollar weapons sales to both Israel and Saudi Arabia.
The State Department said it green-lighted a $3.8-billion sale of 30 Apache attack helicopters to Israel, which has agreed to a fragile ceasefire in Gaza. Also in the package was a $1.8 billion sale of joint light tactical vehicles.
The US sends billions of dollars worth of military supplies per year to Israel, largely in aid rather than sales.
The US also approved a $9-billion sale to Saudi Arabia for 730 Patriot missiles, which are used to defend against incoming attacks.
Saudi Arabia, while no friend of Iran, has voiced caution about an attack on Iran as Gulf monarchies fear instability that could jeopardise their reputation as business havens.
Saudi Arabia for years has been considering a historic normalization with Israel, which increasingly seems distant as the kingdom looks warily at Israel’s military campaigns in the Palestinian territories.
The US carried out strikes on key Iranian nuclear sites in June when it briefly joined Israel’s 12-day war against its regional foe.
Israeli attacks also hit military sites across the country and killed senior officers and top nuclear scientists.
Nationwide protests against the rising cost of living erupted in Iran on December 28, before turning into a broader anti-government movement that peaked on January 8 and 9.
Iranian authorities have said the protests began peacefully before turning into “riots” involving killings and vandalism, blaming the United States and Israel for fomenting the unrest in a “terrorist operation”.
The official death toll from the authorities stands at 3,117. However, the US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) said it has confirmed 6,563 deaths, including 6,170 protesters and 124 children.
