Lawmaker Plays Down US War Rhetoric

“The US threats against the Iranian nation has continued over the past 35 years following the (victory of) Islamic Revolution, but the Iranian people have taken the path to independence and development, heedless of the US administration’s military options,” Ahmad Bakhshayesh, member of the Parliament’s National Security and Foreign Policy Commission, told the Tasnim News Agency on Monday.

The lawmaker made the comments in response to the recent threatening remarks by the US Secretary of State John Kerry, who said that if Iran resumes uranium enrichment beyond the five-percent level, “then the military option that is available to the United States is ready and prepared to do what it would have to do.”

Bakhshayesh further urged the Iranian diplomats engaged in foreign policy affairs to adopt tougher stances in dealing with foreign countries, so that the Americans would not allow themselves to repeat such rhetoric.

In similar remarks on Saturday, Commander of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) underlined that the United States will be stunned by the offensive power of the Islamic Republic if it resorts to military action against Iran.

"The US will never understand the Islamic Republic of Iran's offensive scope," Major General Mohammad Ali Jafari said.

Speaking to the Tasnim News Agency, Jafari said the US threats offer the best opportunity for the “revolutionary Islam” as “Islam’s leaders have long ago prepared us for a great and decisive confrontation".

The IRGC commander referred to the US administration’s massive debts and its inability to resolve the country’s economic problems, and said it seems unlikely that "wise men" in the US administration would allow the “ludicrous” military option to be employed.

Jafari further noted that political experts and security observers in the US consider the military option against Iran to be good "only on the table" but believe that using the option "would not be in the interest of the US national security."