Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said in an interview with Al Jazeera published on Wednesday that Iran is ready for any future Israeli attacks and that he was “not optimistic” about the ceasefire that was reached at the end of the 12-day US-Israeli war on Iran.
“We are fully prepared for any new Israeli military move, and our armed forces are ready to strike deep inside Israel again,” Pezeshkian said.
“That is why we have prepared ourselves for any possible scenario and any potential response. Israel has harmed us, and we have also harmed it. It has dealt us powerful blows, and we have struck it hard in its depths, but it is concealing its losses,” he added.
Pezeshkian said that Israel’s attacks on Iran sought to “eliminate” Iranian leadership, which he said it failed to do. The Iranian leader said in a recent interview with Tucker Carlson that he was targeted by an Israeli airstrike, and US officials later confirmed that he was injured in an attack that targeted a meeting of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council.
Pezeshkian also vowed that Iran’s nuclear enrichment program would continue and reaffirmed that Tehran is not seeking nuclear weapons. President Trump has been threatening to bomb Iran again if the country restarts uranium enrichment.
“Trump says that Iran should not have a nuclear weapon and we accept this because we reject nuclear weapons and this is our political, religious, humanitarian and strategic position,” Pezeshkian said. “We believe in diplomacy, so any future negotiations must be according to a win-win logic, and we will not accept threats and dictates.”
Iranian officials have said that they’re open to future negotiations with the US, but that they need a guarantee that Iran won’t come under attack again since previous talks were used as a cover for Israel to launch the 12-Day War.
Pezeshkian also said that the claims from Trump that Iran’s nuclear program has been completely obliterated are an “illusion” and said the country’s “nuclear capabilities are in the minds of our scientists and not in the facilities.”
While the US and Israeli airstrikes have ended, The New York Times reported on Wednesday that Iranian officials suspect Israeli sabotage may be behind a string of mysterious fires in the country that began around the time of the ceasefire. Israel has a history of carrying out covert attacks on Iranian soil, including assassinations, sabotage, and operations using small drones.
