Trump hopeful of Iran deal despite Khamenei warning of ‘regional war’

Nevin Al Sukari - Sana'a - PARIS, Feb 2 — US President Donald Trump yesterday said he was hopeful of agreeing a deal with Iran after the country’s supreme leader warned that any US attack on the Islamic republic would trigger a regional war.

Following the Iranian authorities’ deadly response to anti-government protests that peaked last month, Trump has threatened military action and ordered the dispatch of an aircraft carrier group to the Middle East.

Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei yesterday likened the recent protests to a “coup”, warning that a US attack would trigger a broad conflict.

“The Americans should know that if they start a war, this time it will be a regional war,” he said, telling Iranians they “should not be scared” of Trump’s rhetoric.

“They (rioters) attacked the police, government centres, IRGC centres, banks, and mosques, and burned the Koran... It was like a coup,” Khamenei said, adding that “the coup was suppressed”.

Asked about the Iranian leader’s warning, Trump told reporters yesterday: “Of course he is going to say that.

“Hopefully we’ll make a deal. If we don’t make a deal, then we’ll find out whether or not he was right,” he said.

The demonstrations in Iran began as an expression of discontent at the high cost of living, but grew into a mass anti-government movement that the country’s leaders have described as “riots” stoked by the United States and Israel.

Iranian authorities nonetheless ordered the release of detained 26-year-old protester Erfan Soltani on bail, his lawyer said yesterday, after Washington warned he was on death row and threatened an attack if any anti-government demonstrators were executed.

He was arrested in January for what Iran’s judiciary said were charges of propaganda against Iran’s Islamic system and acting against national security.

Washington had warned he was due to be executed, though Tehran said he had never been sentenced to death and that the charges against him did not carry the death penalty.

As tensions heightened between Iran and the US, Tehran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi yesterday said he was concerned about “miscalculations” but said he believed Trump was “wise enough to make the correct decision”.

He said Iran has lost trust in the United States as a negotiating partner, adding that some countries in the region were acting as intermediaries to rebuild trust.

“So I see the possibility of another talk if the US negotiation team follows what President Trump said: to come to a fair and equitable deal to ensure that there is no nuclear weapons,” he said in an interview with CNN.

‘Terrorist’ designations 

Tehran has acknowledged thousands of deaths during the protests, and yesterday the presidency published a list of 2,986 names out of the 3,117 that authorities said were killed in the unrest.

Of the total, 131 have yet to be identified but their details will be released soon, it said in a statement.

Authorities insist most were members of the security forces and innocent bystanders, attributing the violence to “terrorist acts”.

However, the US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) said it has confirmed 6,713 deaths, mostly protesters.

The response prompted the European Union to list the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as a terrorist organisation, with Iranian lawmakers retaliating yesterday by slapping the same designation on European armies.

Lawmakers wore the green uniform of the Guards in a display of solidarity at the legislative session, where they chanted “Death to America”, “Death to Israel” and “Shame on you, Europe”, state television footage showed.

It remained unclear what immediate impact the decision would have.

The step matched similar classifications enacted by the United States, Canada and Australia.

Threats and dialogue 

Firouzeh, a 43-year-old homemaker who declined to give her full name, said the recent tensions had left her “very worried and scared”.

“Lately, all I do is watch the news until I fall asleep. Sometimes I wake up in the middle of the night to check the updates,” she said.

IRGC official Ahmad Vahidi was quoted by the Mehr news agency as saying “enemies” sought to create a “war atmosphere”.

But Ali Larijani, head of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, said on Saturday: “Contrary to the hype of the contrived media war, structural arrangements for negotiations are progressing.”

Trump also confirmed that dialogue was taking place, but without withdrawing his earlier threats, adding “we’ll see what happens”.

The US president previously said he believed Iran would make a deal over its nuclear and missile programmes rather than face military action.

Tehran, meanwhile, has said it is ready for nuclear talks if its missile and defence capabilities are not on the agenda. — AFP