The head of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard said on Wednesday that Iran was “not looking for war”, appearing to signal that it would not escalate tensions with the US. But he also warned that Iran was prepared to respond if attacked.
“We hear threatening words from American officials,” General Hossein Salami, the chief commander of the powerful military organisation, was quoted as saying by Iranian state news media. “You have tested us and we know each other — we will not leave any threat unanswered.”
The comments came after President Joe Biden said on Tuesday that he had decided on a US response to the weekend drone attack that killed three US soldiers and injured more than 40 others at a remote military outpost in Jordan. The US has said that an Iranian-backed militia was behind the attack, the deadliest of more than 160 such strikes targeting US forces in West Asia since the start of the war between Israel and Hamas in October.
Biden did not specify what the US response would be. Some Republican lawmakers have urged him to attack Iran directly, although Biden emphasised again on Tuesday that he was determined to avoid a broader regional conflict, telling reporters: “I don’t think we need a wider war in the Middle East.”
In an apparent sign that Iran was trying to tamp down tensions, Kata’ib Hezbollah, one of the most powerful regional militias linked to Iran, and the one the Pentagon says was most likely responsible for the deadly attack in Jordan, made the surprising announcement Tuesday that it was suspending military operations in Iraq, where it operates.
A statement by the group indicated that it had come under pressure from Iran and Iraq to stop attacks on US troops.
Iran has denied ordering attacks on US forces, including the drone strike in Jordan, saying that the Axis of Resistance acts independently to oppose “aggression and occupation”.
In a meeting with government officials on Wednesday, Iranian foreign minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian said the US should “stop using the language of threats”.
New York Times News Service
