Jerusalem, July 09: Amid US conflicting signals on an Israeli attack on Iran, a dignitary in Tehran rejects Tel Aviv’s threats as a ‘vain propaganda campaign’.
Ali-Akbar Velayati, foreign affairs adviser to the Leader of the Islamic Revolution, Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, said late Wednesday that any military attack against Iran would be a failure.
The former Iranian foreign minister said Israel’s allies intrinsically know that any military attack on Iran could backfire and upset the balance of the whole region.
“Those supporting this usurper regime … know that the Middle East is an extremely sensitive region with a very fragile political and economic balance.”
Velayati’s remarks came a few days after US Vice-President Joe Biden announced that the US would not stand in the way of Israel in its decisions on Iran.
“Israel can determine for itself… what’s in their interest and what they decide to do relative to Iran and anyone else,” Biden said.
“We cannot dictate to another sovereign nation what they can and cannot do when they make a determination — if they make a determination — that they’re existentially threatened.”
Israel has long threatened to put an end to Iran’s nuclear program, which it describes as a ‘threat’ to its existence, by resorting to military action.
Israel’s staunch ally, the US, which has plans to diplomatically engage Iran over the issue, has, up until now, refused to give Israel the green light for a military attack on Iran.
US President Barack Obama said in a Tuesday interview with CNN that Washington has ‘absolutely not’ given its consent to an Israeli strike aimed at destroying Iran’s nuclear facilities.
While repeating his promise to resolve the issue through diplomatic channels, President Obama added that the US could not dictate Israeli actions.
“I think Vice President Biden stated a categorical fact, which is that we can’t dictate to other countries what their security interests are,” said Obama, referring to continuous Israeli threats to attack Iran.
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Mike Mullen also warned that the region would bear ‘unintended consequences’ if Iran comes under any military attack.
Israel and the West, spearheaded by the US, accuse Iran — a signatory to the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) — of pursuing a nuclear weapons program.
This is while Tehran has repeatedly said that a military nuclear program does not fit within its defense paradigm, saying that its nuclear program is aimed at producing electricity to meet growing domestic demand.
—–Agencies