Tehran Warns US That American Bases Are 'Within the Range' of Iranian Missiles

Sputnik News

23:29 09.07.2019(updated 23:36 09.07.2019)

On Tuesday, Iran's Minister of Cultural and Social Affairs Hossein Nejat warned that Iran could obliterate US aircraft carriers in the Gulf if the US attacks Iran, further increasing tensions between the two countries.

"American bases are within the range of our missiles ... Our missiles will destroy their aircraft carriers if they make a mistake," Nejat warned. "Americans are very well aware of the consequences of a military confrontation with Iran."

According to al-Masdar News, Nejat also added that war is not on "Trump's agenda" and that the US president wants to "drag Tehran to negotiate through the maximum pressure."

"Iran has put Israel's security at risk and now it is troubling Saudi Arabia, America and Israel. Tehran is fighting the war at the enemy's borders and not on its borders," Nejat continued, the agency reported.

Earlier Tuesday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made similar remarks, warning Iran that it is within range of Israeli warplanes. The Israeli official's statement comes one week after Mojtaba Zolnour, the chairman of the Iranian parliament's National Security and Foreign Policy Commission, indicated that if the US attacks Iran, "only half an hour will remain of Israel's lifespan," Sputnik reported.

"Iran recently has been threatening Israel's destruction. It should remember that these planes can reach anywhere in the Middle East, including Iran, and certainly Syria," Netanyahu said at an Israeli Air Force base Tuesday.

Tensions between the US and Iran have been high ever since the United States pulled out of the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) in May 2018, despite Iran's continued compliance with the agreement by not pursuing a nuclear weapons program, as attested to by the International Atomic Energy Agency.

The US pullout prompted the deal's other signatories, including Russia, China and several European powers, to scramble to try and salvage it. Following the pullout, the US reimposed a series of sanctions that had been lifted against Iran under the terms of the JCPOA. Additionally, Washington has continued to introduce new sanctions against Tehran.

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