Iran could ‘prolong’ conflict with US until Donald Trump’s presidency ends: IRGC adviser

While multiple reports have surfaced that Donald Trump is considering stopping all hostilities against Iran if it decides to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, a top Iranian military official has said the Middle East nation could “prolong” the conflict with the United States (US) until the 80-year-old Republican president is out of office.

The remarks were made by Brigadier General Mohammad Reza Naqdi, who is a senior adviser to the commander of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). 

In an interview with PBS NewsHour on Tuesday, Naqdi said the US had two objectives, the toppling of the leadership and the breaking up of Iran, but that has failed and claimed the victory is on Iran’s side. He said Iran will gain more experience the “longer this war lasts”, adding that the world has seen that the US military “is weaker than what we perceived”.

“Look, we have to attain deterrence so that the enemy never dares to attack us, so we can live with security,” Naqdi said. “One way is to prolong this war until we get to the next term of the presidency and cause attrition, so that if anyone else wants to attack Iran, they will know there is a cost.”

“We saw confusion and bewilderment in America. It became a war without a strategy. Every two or three days, they announced a new objective. For several nights, they said they want to invade Kharg Island. They said they want to open the Strait of Hormuz. They mobilized their battleships. Everything they tried, we can show how we were victorious,” he added. 

When asked about attacks on civilian ships transiting through the Hormuz, Naqdi cited the international law and said Iran can control it “when you are in a state of war, any thoroughfare deemed to be a threat”.

He also said Iran has a vast stockpile of missiles and drones, and it is manufacturing more of them every day than the number it launches. When asked if the US decides to use a nuclear weapon against Iran, Naqdi said the world is unlikely to allow that to happen, adding that things are different than World War II.

He also said Iran has no enmity with the people of the US and slogan “Death to America” means death to America’s leadership.

“I will say this clearly. Our nuclear bomb is the hearts of the people of the world that we won fighting oppression. Islamic values and the divine values of the Islamic Revolution are taking over the world. There is no need for nuclear bombs. There is no need for slaughter,” he said.   

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