DUBAI - Iran said on Friday it could
"easily" hit U.S. warships in the Gulf, the latest in days of
saber rattling between Washington and Tehran, while its top
diplomat worked to counter U.S. sanctions and salvage a nuclear
deal denounced by President Donald Trump.
Tensions have risen in recent days, with concerns about a
potential U.S.-Iran conflict. Earlier this week, the United
States pulled some diplomatic staff from its embassy in Baghdad
following weekend attacks on four oil tankers in the Gulf.
"Even our short-range missiles can easily reach (U.S.)
warships in the Persian Gulf," Mohammad Saleh Jokar, the deputy
for parliamentary affairs of the elite Revolutionary Guards
(IRGC), was quoted by Fars news agency as saying.
"America cannot afford the costs of a new war, and the
country is in a bad situation in terms of manpower and social
conditions," he added.
Washington has increased economic sanctions and built up its
military presence in the region, accusing Iran of threats to
U.S. troops and interests. Tehran has described those steps as
"psychological warfare" and a "political game".
In Washington, a senior administration official said the
United States is "sitting by the phone" but has heard no message
yet from Iran that it is willing to accept Trump's overtures for
direct talks.
"We think they should de-escalate and come to negotiations,"
the official, who declined to be identified, told a small group
of reporters.
Trump has urged Iran's leadership to hold talks over its
nuclear program and regional influence amid rising tensions
between the two countries that has fanned fears of armed
conflict after the United States deployed an aircraft carrier
group to the region.
Iranian army chief Major General Abdolrahim Mousavi vowed:
"If the enemy miscalculates and commits a strategic error, it
will receive a response which will make it regret (its action),"
the semi-official news agency Mehr reported.
Senior lawmaker Heshmatollah Falahatpisheh called on Twitter
for an Iran-U.S. "red desk" to help prevent a war.
"Top authorities in Iran and America have rejected a war,
but third parties are in a hurry to destroy a large part of the
world. A red desk should be set up in Iraq or Qatar with
officials from the two sides ... to manage tensions," said
Falahatpisheh, head of parliament’s national security committee.
Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said this week Tehran
would not negotiate another nuclear deal after Washington last
year quit a 2015 international pact that put curbs on Iran's
potential pathway to build a nuclear bomb in exchange for the
lifting of international sanctions.
Trump believes the economic pressure will force Tehran to
accept tougher restrictions on its nuclear and missile programs
and on its support for proxies in Iraq, Syria and Yemen. He has
said publicly he wants to pursue diplomacy after withdrawing
from the deal and moving to cut all Iranian oil exports.
'SUPPORTIVE STATEMENTS' NOT ENOUGH
Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, on a visit to Japan
and China, said the international community and remaining
signatories of the nuclear deal should act to save the accord as
"supportive statements" are not enough.
Last week, Iran notified the five remaining signatories that
it would reduce some commitments under the accord. Tehran has
asked the other signatories, including Germany, Britain and
France, to help protect its economy from U.S. sanctions.
"Safeguarding the (nuclear accord) is possible through
practical measures, and not only through supportive statements,"
Zarif was quoted as saying by the state news agency IRNA.
"If the international community feels that this (nuclear)
accord is a valuable achievement, then it should take practical
steps just like Iran does," Zarif said on Iranian state
television. "The meaning of practical steps is fully clear:
Iran's economic relations should be normalised."
Iran's economy is expected to shrink for the second year
running and inflation could reach 40%, an International
Monetary Fund senior official said last month, as the country
copes with the impact of tighter U.S. sanctions.
The curbs under the nuclear deal were aimed at extending the
time Iran would need to produce a nuclear bomb, if it chose to,
to a year from roughly 2-3 months.
The United States and the U.N. nuclear watchdog believe Iran
had a nuclear weapons program that it abandoned. Tehran denies
ever having had one.