Shamkhani: If A War Starts, Region’s People will Certainly Win; It Is the US that Must Leave

By Staff

Secretary General of Iran's Supreme National Security Council Rear Admiral Ali Shamkhani denied any possibility of war between the US and Iran.

“There is no reason to engage in a war with the US,” Shamkhani said in an interview with Russia’s TASS news agency on Wednesday.

“But if the war starts, the people of the region will certainly win. Provocateurs, arsonists of the conflict are waiting for a sad end,” he emphasized.

According to the Iranian senior official, “the interference of Americans in the situation in our region creates tension. Iran's policy is to ensure security here through the efforts of regional countries.”

“Whether a thousand soldier will be sent or not, in any case it will have no impact on the will of the people in the region, which is that the US must go.”

Earlier, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Washington is examining all options to counter Iran in the region, including the military one.

Tensions have been rising between the US and Iran since last year, when the US unilaterally withdrew from a nuclear pact between the Islamic Republic and the five permanent members of the UN Security Council plus Germany, also known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Actions [JCPOA].

US President Donald Trump's administration pursued a number of actions meant to scuttle the agreement, including the re-imposition of US sanctions on Iranian oil.