Iran's Major General Rashid: Should war break out, no country will manage its 'scope and timing'

RT
Sun, 23 Jun 2019 12:15 UTC

© Mehr News Agency

Major General Gholam Ali Rashid, the commander of the IRGC's Khatam al-Anbiya headquarters

The US should think about the lives of its military forces before considering further military action in the Middle East, an Iranian general has warned, predicting that a US-Iran conflict would devastate the entire region.

"The US administration should behave in a responsible way to protect the lives of American forces," Maj. Gen. Gholamali Rashid said on Sunday, while addressing Iran's elite Revolutionary Guards Corps.

Rashid stressed that if war does come, it would be the fault of "US interventionist policy," and would have disastrous consequences for the entire region. "If a conflict breaks out in the region, no country would be able to manage its scope and timing."

The senior military officer insisted that Iran is not seeking war but "will powerfully defend" itself against "any threat and aggression." His comments come as National Security Advisor John Bolton boasted that the US military is "ready to go" and reserves the right to strike Iran.

The two nations came perilously close to exchanging blows after Iran shot down an unmanned US military drone, which Tehran claims was flying in its airspace. The White House was preparing to retaliate with airstrikes, but US President Donald Trump reportedly called off the operation, citing concerns about how many Iranians would be killed by the attack.

Comment: More from Sputnik on reactions to post-drone downing escalation:

Iranian MPs have slammed the US amid a new crisis between the two countries. Earlier this month, US President Donald Trump called Iran "terrorist nation number one", while the Pentagon sent reinforcements to the Middle East to oppose Tehran.

"America is the real terrorist in the world by spreading chaos in countries, giving advanced weapons to terrorist groups, causing insecurity, and still it says 'Come, let's negotiate'", deputy speaker of the Iranian parliament Masoud Pezeshkian, said during a session broadcast on state radio.

In response to this, multiple members of the parliament chanted "death to America".