Spanish
The Iranian government indicated on Wednesday that it considers a military confrontation more likely than a negotiation with the United States, after days of increasing tension between both countries due to President Donald Trump's decision to send a fleet to the area.
"We consider war more likely than negotiation. We are preparing for the worst-case scenario. The priority is to defend the country," said Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Ghariabadi in a meeting with foreign press in Tehran.
The diplomat pointed out that Iran is prepared for war and to give a "forceful response to any aggression. In the event of a limited attack by the United States, our response will be appropriate," he added.
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As the Iranian government has warned, Ghariabadi indicated that the place from which an attack against Iran originates or from which US fighters take off to attack "will be a legitimate target for us, and not the entire country from which the offensive began." The deputy minister assured that the U.S. "must change its approach and seek a real negotiation" and that if Washington wants "a negotiation whose outcome is not predefined, the option can be evaluated." He affirmed that the channels of dialogue with the United States are always open, but there are no conversations at the moment. "The U.S. has proposed to negotiate. The important thing is the level of seriousness it has to negotiate," he said. In that sense, the deputy minister pointed out that if with the military deployment Washington seeks to "pressure us to achieve its objectives in the negotiations, they will not succeed". "If we enter into a negotiation, it will be with authority and a firm stance," he added. The U.S. nuclear aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln, along with its strike group, is in the Middle East, according to a report this Monday by the United States Central Command (Centcom), following Trump's warning to send a "massive fleet" in response to the repression against the protests in Iran. Although the protests that shook Iran, especially on January 8 and 9, were quelled by the regime and there are no longer any relevant demonstrations in the country, Trump has maintained his instruction to send the fleet to the region. Iran has assured that it will respond to any intervention by the United States and has indicated that if an attack occurs, it will consider military targets all US bases in the region. The Islamic Republic has accused the United States and Israel of organizing protests that they have labeled as "terrorist" and whose deaths they estimate at 3,117, while opposition NGOs such as HRANA, place the figure at around 6,000.
