Iran’s Guard Says It Has No Fear of War With US

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iran's influential Revolutionary Guard said Tuesday it does not fear war with the United States and that America has not grown in power in recent years — the latest tough talk from Tehran amid escalating regional tensions and a crisis with Washington.

"The enemy is not more powerful than before," said the Guard spokesman, Gen. Ramazan Sharif.

Tensions between Washington and Tehran soared recently over the United States deploying an aircraft carrier and B-52 bombers to the Persian Gulf over an alleged, still-unexplained threat it perceives from Tehran. The United States also plans to send 900 additional troops to the Mideast and extend the stay of another 600 as tens of thousands of others also are on the ground across the region.

The crisis takes root in President Trump's withdrawal last year of the United States from the 2015 nuclear deal between Tehran and world powers that capped Iran's uranium enrichment activities in return for lifting sanctions. Washington subsequently reimposed sanctions on Iran, sending its economy into freefall.

Trump claims that the deal failed to sufficiently curb Iran's ability to develop nuclear weapons or halt its support for militias throughout the Middle East that the United States says destabilize the region, as well as address the issue of Tehran's missiles, which can reach both U.S. regional bases and Israel.

Speaking at a press conference in Tehran, Sharif said the Guard does not "support engaging in any war" though it does not "fear the occurrence of a war."

"We have enough readiness to defend the country," he said, adding that Iran has boosted its military power over the past 30 years.

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif appeared unimpressed with Japan's offer to mediate in the crisis, saying Trump should make his intentions clear about any talks with Iran through actions, not words.

In Japan on Monday, Trump said he'd back Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's efforts to open communication with Iran. "I do believe Iran would like to talk and if they'd like to talk, we'll talk also," Trump said.

Iran has said it has no interest in negotiations with Washington after Trump's pullout from the nuclear deal and the reimposing of economic sanctions. Zarif blamed Trump's economic pressure on Iran for the regional tensions.

However, Iran's foreign ministry spokesman, Abbas Mousavi, tempered his minister's remarks by saying that Iran would "wait and see" before deciding on any offers of negotiations.

Japanese media have reported that Abe is considering a visit to Iran next month. The Kyodo News agency, citing unidentified government sources, said that Abe's visit would be likely in mid-June. Zarif visited Tokyo this month.

The United States also has accused Iran of being behind a string of incidents this month, including what officials allege was sabotage of oil tankers off the coast of the United Arab Emirates and a rocket that landed near the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad, while Yemen's Iranian-aligned Houthi rebels launched a string of drone attacks targeting Saudi Arabia.

A Dubai-based, government-aligned newspaper criticized Zarif in a rare front-page editorial Tuesday.

The Gulf News piece, headlined "No thank you, Mr. Zarif," dismissed his recent offer of forming a nonaggression pact with Gulf Arab nations and said the countries are not buying Zarif's "nice neighbor routine."

The paper says Iran "continues to call for the overthrow of Arab governments, sends its agents to spy and sabotage, aiming at spreading chaos in Gulf countries, such as Bahrain and Kuwait and more recently off Fujairah and in Saudi Arabia."

"Nobody wants war in this region," the newspaper stated. "But Iran should instead focus on its daunting internal problems which cannot be resolved by constantly fomenting aggression against our countries."

The UAE is part of a Saudi-led coalition that has waged war on Yemen's Houthi rebels, in part with U.S.-supplied weapons, since 2015. Tehran denies arming the Houthis.

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