Iran says it will respond firmly to any US threat as tension spikes

Published Jun 22, 2019

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Dubai - Iran said on Saturday it would

respond firmly to any US threat against it, the semi-official

Tasnim news agency reported, amid escalating tension between

Tehran and Washington over the shooting down of an unmanned US drone by the Islamic Republic.

On Thursday, an Iranian missile destroyed a US Global Hawk

surveillance drone. Tehran said the drone was shot down over its

territory and Washington said it had occurred in international

airspace.

US  President Donald Trump said on Friday he aborted a

military strike to retaliate for Iran's downing of the US drone because it could have killed 150 people, and signalled he

was open to talks with Tehran.

Iran has vowed to defend its borders.

"Regardless of any decision they (US officials) make... we

will not allow any of Iran's borders to be violated. Iran will

firmly confront any aggression or threat by America," foreign

ministry spokesman Abbas Mousavi told Tasnim.

Worries about a confrontation between Iran and the United

States have mounted despite Trump saying that he has no appetite

to go to war with Iran. Tehran has also said it is not seeking a

war but has warned of a "crushing" response if attacked.

A senior Arab diplomat said the sharply increased tensions

would further harm the crisis-hit Middle East region.

"De-escalation is very important because tempers are flaring

... It's very important we avoid confrontation right now," the

senior diplomat told Reuters on condition of anonymity.

"Confrontation, whatever we think about Trump or Iran, will be

disastrous for everyone."

"Any mistake by Iran's enemies, in particular America and

its regional allies, would be like firing at a powder keg that

will burn America, its interests and its allies to the ground,"

the senior spokesman of Iran's Armed Forces, Abolfazl Shekarchi,

told Tasnim on Saturday.

The US Federal Aviation Administration on Thursday issued

an emergency order prohibiting US operators from flying in an

oversea area of Tehran-controlled airspace over the Strait of

Hormuz and Gulf of Oman. Some other international airlines are

taking related precautions.

But Iran said on Saturday its airspace was "safe and secure"

for all planes to cross, Tasnim reported.

The United States and Iran's main regional rival Saudi

Arabia have blamed Iran for attacks on two oil tankers last week

in the Gulf of Oman and on four tankers off the United Arab

Emirates on May 12, both near the strategic Strait of Hormuz, a

major conduit for global oil supplies.

Iran has denied any involvement in those incidents.

Britain's Foreign Office said Middle East minister Andrew

Murrison would raise concerns about "Iran's regional conduct and

its threat to cease complying with the nuclear deal" during a

visit to Tehran on Sunday.

Tensions began to worsen significantly when Trump pulled out

of a 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and six powers and reimposed

sanctions on the country. The sanctions had been lifted under

the pact in return for Tehran curbing its nuclear programme.

Iran has threatened to breach the deal if the European

signatories to the deal fail to salvage it by shielding Tehran

from US sanctions.

"The Europeans will not be given more time beyond July 8 to

save the deal," Mousavi said, referring to Iran's deadline of 60

days that Tehran announced in May. 

Reuters

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