Iran and the United States have raised their voices of mutual threats. Trump said the U.S. Navy "fleet" is heading to the Persian Gulf
On Thursday, Donald Trump said that a U.S. Navy "fleet" was heading to the Gulf region to continue pressuring Tehran, despite the possibility of military intervention seeming to have decreased.
The U.S. president has repeatedly threatened to strike Iran in response to its recent crackdown on protests, but last week he appeared to withdraw that threat, after he was convinced that Tehran had halted the planned executions of protesters.
On Thursday, he told reporters on Air Force One, the presidential plane returning from the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, "We have sent many ships to the region, just in case."
Donald Trump added, "I would rather nothing happens, but we are watching them closely."
After weeks of protests and crackdowns in Iran, the commander of the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps warned Washington on Thursday that his forces were preparing to "pull the trigger."
However, Trump did not close the door to dialogue. On Thursday at Davos, he said, "Iran definitely wants dialogue, and we will have dialogue."
But General Mohammad Pakpour of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps escalated the situation on Thursday.
He warned, "The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and our dear Iran have their fingers on the trigger, more ready than ever to carry out the orders and measures of the Supreme Leader, who is more precious to them than their own lives." He referred to Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
In June of last year, Khamenei appointed Mohammad Pakpour to replace Hussein Salarim, who was killed in an Israeli airstrike.
His speech was broadcast on state television, coinciding with the national celebration day of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps is the ideological tool of the Supreme Leader and a well-organized armed force.
"Legitimate Targets"
Another senior Iranian officer, General Ali Abdollahi Aliabadi, warned that if the United States launched an attack, "all American interests, bases, and centers of influence" would become "legitimate targets" for the Iranian armed forces.
Since the 1979 Islamic Revolution, Iran and the United States have been enemies, constantly threatening each other.
General Abolfazl Shekarchi threatened that if Washington attacked Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, it would take Trump's life.
On Tuesday, Donald Trump raised his voice against Iran's leaders, threatening that if anything happened to him, they would be "wiped off the face of the earth."
On Tuesday, Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi wrote an opinion piece in the Wall Street Journal, vowing to take retaliatory actions, while also assuring that Iran remains "ready for real, serious negotiations."
Source: rfi
Original: toutiao.com/article/1855125731057675/
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