AhlulBayt News Agency (ABNA): Major General Mohsen Rezaei, the representative of the Supreme Leader and the Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council, in an interview with Al Jazeera, elaborating on Iran's view of the war process, the country's defense preparations, the conditions for ending the war, relations with regional countries, and the future of the nuclear file, emphasized that Iran is prepared to continue confronting America and will never surrender.
He also emphasized the necessity of ending regional conflicts and strengthening cooperation among Persian Gulf countries.
What follows are the most important positions of the Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council in the interview with Al Jazeera:
America Underestimated Iran
The US President started this stupid war with Iran, imagining he could resolve the Iran issue like Venezuela in a few days. He failed to realize that he was facing a people with a several-thousand-year civilization, a vast country, a believing nation, and most importantly, a revolutionary people. He greatly underestimated Iran and his calculations were wrong.
Today, no one considers America's war with Iran a logical or rational war. Everyone describes it as a stupid war, and I add the word ignorant. America's actions, from a military, economic, and political standpoint, were not based on any accurate assessment or precise calculations and were entirely influenced by Israel and Netanyahu.
Netanyahu dragged Trump into the quagmire, and now he himself is in a predicament. That is why disagreements have arisen between the two, and just as Trump started this stupid war, he is now stupidly continuing it. It was and is in America's interest to accept Iran's conditions and exit the war, because the longer America stays and flounders, the worse its situation becomes.
The US Treasury Secretary and his deputies traveled to Oman, the UAE, Qatar, Turkey, and various other countries, demanding they cut their financial relations with Iran and prevent Iranian aircraft from landing at their airports. This shows Trump has reached a point of desperation. He started with bombing, then failed to achieve a result, then imposed a naval blockade, which also failed, and now he has resorted to a ground economic blockade.
These actions by Trump clearly show his weakness and confusion. Therefore, Trump's recent threats are also doomed to failure, and we will defeat them.
Iran's Readiness for Military Confrontation
We have fully prepared ourselves for a fateful war, and we are now fully aware of the weaknesses of the US military. Regarding the airstrikes they intend to carry out, we are much better prepared than before. Our readiness today is superior to what it was during the 40-day war.
We recently tested an anti-ship missile. We launched a missile that exploded near an aircraft carrier and split into 80 bomblets. We tested this and the test was successful.
Therefore, if a war begins again, American ships, unless they retreat to the Indian Ocean, will be exposed to attack wherever they are within it. We have acquired these capabilities, increased the speed of our hypersonic missiles from Mach 6 to Mach 10, improved our electronic warfare systems, and strengthened our air defense. We also have other measures that we will use at the appropriate time.
Therefore, we are ready, and if America starts a war, we will confront America with greater power and with more painful and more numerous strikes.
Attack on US Bases in the Region in Case of Attack
Is it possible that there are places from which planes take off and come to bomb our cities, and we do not target those bases? Neither from the perspective of Islam, nor from a rational perspective, nor from any other perspective can it be said that these bases should not be targeted.
There is a solution, and that is for Arab countries to sanction America and tell it: You have no right to bomb Iran from our countries. When an Arab country, a brotherly country, a Muslim country allows America to take off from its bases and come to bomb Iranian cities, the Iranian people, Iran's leader, Iranian schools, Iranian high schools, and Iranian stadiums, and our citizens are martyred and Iranian Muslims are martyred by planes taking off from Arab countries, do we not have the right to target that base?
We have so far not attacked Arab cities or centers affiliated with the Arab countries themselves. We have targeted the bases from which planes take off and come to bomb us.
We are serious about defending ourselves. This time, if war starts, we will strike more at all US air bases from which these planes take off. There is only one solution, and that is for our neighboring countries in the region to prevent these planes from flying and stop their flights.
Iran's Strategy for Cooperation with Regional Countries
Our strategy for cooperation with friendly and neighboring countries is completely clear. We have always sought friendship.
We advise Arab countries to leave America and Trump. Everyone, the whole world, knows that the American economy is in fact on a path of decline. Over the next ten years, America will not be in this region, but we and the Arab countries will remain. It is we who must reform the region. We must establish security in the Persian Gulf. We must create an economic cooperation charter and be friends with each other in the region.
We are one family, the Persian Gulf family. We are eight countries and must pay attention to reconstruction and economic development, cooperate and participate with each other in our investments, and even have a single currency and a single common market.
I am optimistic about the future. Why? Because it is the people who determine how the relationship between Iran and the regional countries will be.
Emphasis on Ending the Yemen War
We welcome the end of the war between Saudi Arabia and Yemen. We also want the war between Afghanistan and Pakistan to end. We have also announced that, as a friend and brotherly country, we are ready to help end these wars.
However, note that Yemen has been under a ten-year economic blockade, and ultimately, this issue had to be resolved through negotiation between them.
It seems the Yemenis are willing to negotiate with Saudi Arabia and resolve the issue between themselves, but we do not interfere; let them, whether in Sana'a or Riyadh, sit and talk and reach an agreement to achieve peace between Yemen and Saudi Arabia. The condition is that both sides sit and talk.
Warning About Escalation of Regional Conflicts
Mr. Trump and Mr. Netanyahu are igniting the fire of World War III. These two men, by prolonging wars and the follies they commit, are preparing the ground for World War III across the world.
Now the Ukraine-Russia conflict has escalated, Europe's relationship with America has deteriorated, and the regional countries themselves are experiencing increasing tension. In other words, the global atmosphere is currently moving toward international insecurity and world war.
Who is responsible for this? Trump and Netanyahu.
Change in Iran's Strategy in War and Negotiations
After the Americans withdrew from the Islamabad Memorandum, we concluded that we should adapt our policies, strategies, and methods of war with America to new patterns. Therefore, we made changes in the war, in the negotiations, and also regarding economic sanctions. We began implementing these changes a month and some days ago.
We have now begun reverse-engineering it, extracting its electronic systems and everything, and using it.
The same applies to the negotiation process. Regarding negotiations, we said that a person who does not respect his signature, Trump came and, while Macron, the President of France, was beside him and Rubio, the Secretary of State, was also present, signed, and our president also signed, and then two or three weeks later, he reneged on his signature and withdrew from the agreement he had signed.
Therefore, we were forced to change our approach to negotiations. That is why we now said that America must first implement our conditions, and then negotiations will take place. That is all, and we have nothing else to say. The Americans must in fact implement our conditions. Therefore, we also changed our strategy regarding negotiations.
Reciprocal Response to US Economic Pressure
They are lying. Trump has become known worldwide as a liar.
If the Americans want to disrupt our trade and financial relations, we will do two things.
First, we will definitely attack American companies, such as American drilling companies that are very numerous around us, or American trading companies or American businesses. We will target them. We say: attack on the American economy in response to America's attack on Iran's economy; attack for attack.
On the other hand, we also tell neighboring countries: Do not cooperate with America, because we will respond reciprocally.
Therefore, our advice is that our friends must understand that brotherly and friendly relations are the most important deterrent factor, not American missiles or American bases.
If brotherly and friendly relations between the regional countries are revived, it will cost very little, because brotherhood costs no one anything; rather, on the contrary, it has abundant benefits.
Iran's Conditions for Ending the War
The Americans are aware of our conditions and must implement them. We informed America that one of our conditions is the release of our blocked assets. Second, they must declare the end of the war on all fronts, from Lebanon to all other fronts, and end the war.
Also, they must not interfere in Iran's internal affairs, not cooperate with those who oppose our revolution, stop all forms of aggression against Iranian soil, not continue their attacks, and lift the naval blockade. These are the conditions we have announced many times and have been officially communicated to them.
The Future of Iran's Membership in the NPT
The actions taken by America and Israel against us allow us, under the provisions of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), to withdraw from it, because we were threatened. We were threatened, but we have not yet withdrawn from this treaty.
They bombed our nuclear facilities and sites, but we did not withdraw from the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).
However, the Americans are pushing things in a direction that forces us to reconsider. We are currently examining whether to withdraw from the NPT or not. This depends on the behavior of the United States. This issue is now being discussed in the Islamic Consultative Assembly, and the question of whether Iran will remain in the NPT or withdraw from it is being discussed.
Emphasis on the Continuation of the Fatwa Prohibiting Nuclear Weapons
We are still committed to the fatwa of our martyred Imam, and our position has not changed so far. However, we do not know what will happen in the future. The future is uncertain; do the Americans want to continue this war? Do they want to attack our nuclear facilities again? We have not yet made a decision on this matter, and so far, the fatwa of the martyred Imam still stands.
Rezaei: Iran Will Never Surrender to America
All of Netanyahu's and Trump's efforts and thoughts are currently focused on winning the election. What is not currently at issue is the American people.
Our work is based on principles. We fight with our faith. Iran's defense capability is based on its people; the people are the foundation, because the Iranian people are a civilized people whose history goes back thousands of years, the Iranian people are not a newly formed people. The Iranian people have a history of thousands of years.
Will this nation surrender to America? We will never surrender, and we will defend ourselves.
Therefore, America's actions, yes, may include a show of force or a propaganda campaign, but they do not constitute an all-out war. If they are honest, let their soldiers come and enter Iran. Why do they not send ground forces? Ground forces always have the final say in wars. Why do they not send airborne divisions? Why do American ground forces not enter Iran? Why do they only bomb from the sky and then leave?
There is a possibility that the enemy will carry out a military attack, but this military attack will primarily be to gain votes, not to defeat Iran, or not because the enemy can overthrow the Islamic Republic with an airstrike.
Efforts to End the War Quickly
This war is currently ongoing. Of course, we are striving to end it quickly, but the Americans have found themselves in a very difficult situation.
Therefore, we ask Muslim countries not to participate in Trump's actions. Future American administrations will not be like Trump's administration. At the very least, Muslim nations must formulate a strategic plan for the future of the region.
**************
End/ 345E
