A senior Iranian military official has warned that his country would certainly respond to a recent attack on an Iranian ship leaving the Red Sea should the offender be identified.
Brigadier General Abolfazl Shekarchi, a spokesman for the Iranian army, told the Russian state-run Sputnik newspaper that the Iranian authorities were still investigating the reported sleeper mine attack that hit the cargo ship. MV Saviz, a vessel attached to the country’s elite revolutionary guard. Once the source of the attack was determined, retaliation would follow, he said.
“We need to determine the source of the incident. If we discover the source of the attack on the ship, we will definitely respond, we will never remain silent,” Shekarchi said. “Anyway, the ship was targeted, and now different things have happened to the ship. But we can not make a decision on what we are going to do until our investigation is completed with the utmost accuracy.”
He also said that early indications of the investigation indicate the possible involvement of the US, Israel or one of their partners in the region. Across the Persian Gulf and the wider Middle East, a number of Arab states, such as Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, have also criticized Iran, accusing Tehran of unrest.
Iran, on the other hand, blamed its enemies and the presence of foreign forces for regional instability, which involved a number of unclaimed attacks on commercial ships at sea.
Referring to an unnamed U.S. official, The New York Times reported on Tuesday that Israel had confirmed that it was behind the attack MV Saviz, and that the strike was retaliated against for attacks on two ships owned by Israel in the Red Sea, in March and February. Iran has also reported previous attacks on its ships in the Red Sea, as well as the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and other countries operating vessels in the nearby Gulf of Oman, dating back to 2019.
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An uprising in maritime unrest near some of the world’s major shipping lanes has followed the broader tensions between the US and Iran that have arisen since the unilateral withdrawal of former President Donald Trump from a 2015 nuclear deal. The agreement, officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) and signed by the two countries along with China, France, Germany, Russia and the United Kingdom, lifted international sanctions against Iran in exchange for strict restrictions on its nuclear program. .
However, since Trump’s resignation, Washington has issued severe sanctions against Tehran, limiting the Islamic Republic’s ability to conduct business worldwide, including with other JCPOA parties. In response, Iran withdrew from some of its initial nuclear commitments, citing compliance with both the US and its Western allies.
During the US presidential election last fall, Joe Biden promised to re-enter the agreement if he were to win. So far this has not happened. Its administration has called on Iran to reintroduce uranium enrichment caps. However, Iranian officials have argued that the US should first lift sanctions and leave the two parties in a dead end.
“In the last four years, the international community has seen the intensification of US economic warfare against Iran,” Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said in a virtual speech to the D-8 Organization for Economic Cooperation on Thursday. “These repressive sanctions have caused significant damage to our country.”
Rouhani said it was the new government’s responsibility to lift the sanctions and return to the nuclear deal.
“The nuclear deal, which violates the US and seeks to wipe it out as much as possible, has been retained because of the tactical tactics of the Islamic Republic of Iran,” he added. “The US must first return to the JCPOA by lifting sanctions and making practical arrangements; for it is the duty of the same government that has renounced the promise. The Islamic Republic of Iran will only respond to US action by positive action. “
The Iranian leader has negotiated the JCPOA with former President Barack Obama – with JoeBiden as his vice president. However, Rouhani’s second term will end in June and he may not be eligible for re-election due to re-election, paving the way for potentially more conservative leadership less likely to deal with the West.
Last Friday, however, the first sign of potential progress came when Washington indicated it was open to direct talks with Tehran. While both the US and Iran have tempered expectations of one-on-one negotiations, the two countries are expected to hold indirect talks as part of the broader consultations taking place among the remaining JCPOA parties in the Austrian capital Vienna.
The news has angered some of the most outspoken critics of the deal, including Israel, which has said it will act independently of its closest ally, the US, in the event of a deal.
“Make no mistake; an agreement with Iran that will pave the way for a nuclear weapon – a weapon that threatens to destroy us – any such agreement will not bind us one iota,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said during said a memorial service for the victims of the Holocaust. Wednesday. “Only one thing binds us: to prevent those we want to destroy from carrying out their plan.”
Iran has repeatedly denied that it wanted a nuclear weapon.
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Foreign Ministry spokesman Ned Price declined to comment on the attack. MV Saviz in the Red Sea, told reporters on Wednesday that Biden’s government would continue negotiations on nuclear deals, although he stressed that this would happen while consulting with allies and without unilateral concessions.
“We realize this is possibly the beginning of a process, because we know we have a potentially long way to go,” Price said. “We have always said that it will be difficult, and I think it is also worth emphasizing. It will be difficult for several reasons. It will be difficult due to logistics. These talks are indirect, and consequently “The mechanics of it can be cumbersome. It will be difficult because it is a very technical and complex issue.”
He reiterated that these ‘are not strategic talks’, as Washington has already set out its strategy, and that there will be an extra degree of difficulty, given the negative history between two countries.
“It goes without saying, but there is a fair amount of mistrust between the United States and Iran,” Price said, “based on events of recent years, but of course a much longer history between our two countries. and, for that matter, between Iran and the international community. ‘
He outlined how Washington and Tehran could hear each other and move forward without communicating directly.
“The team in Vienna had consultations with our European allies as well as with our Russian and Chinese partners,” Price said. “In turn, they met with the Iranian delegation. That’s why we heard more about Iran’s position. Our partners, in turn, heard more from us about what we conveyed to the Iranians. hoped for, nothing more and nothing less. ‘