Iranian Navy Commander Rear Adm. Shahram Irani said this week that President Trump’s perception of U.S. military power is based on a delusion.
Adm. Irani responded Monday to Mr. Trump’s dismissal of concerns over upcoming Iranian naval exercises, asserting that the U.S. president overestimated his country’s power. He added that the naval exercise would foster security, while the U.S. presence often inspires instability.
The admiral’s comments come ahead of the 7th Maritime Security Belt exercise. The exercise will take place in the northern Indian Ocean and will feature naval forces from China, Russia, Iran and various regional powers.
According to Iran, the exercise is meant to strengthen naval cooperation between the three main participating nations and improve security.
The admiral’s comments come as Mr. Trump attempts to restart nuclear negotiations with Iran. During a Sunday interview with Fox News, Mr. Trump said a nuclear deal with Iran could be announced within days. He also revealed that his administration had sent a letter to Iran’s supreme leader, threatening to “go in militarily” if a deal was not reached.
Iran fired back on Sunday, asserting Iran would enter diplomatic talks with the U.S. as long as discussions were focused on the militarization of the Islamic Republic’s nuclear program.
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“If the objective of negotiations is to address concerns vis-a-vis any potential militarization of Iran’s nuclear program, such discussions may be subject to consideration,” Iran’s mission to the United Nations said in a statement. “However, should the aim be the dismantlement of Iran’s peaceful nuclear program to claim that what Obama failed to achieve has not been accomplished, such negotiations will never take place.”
Iran has long asserted that its nuclear program is exclusively for peaceful purposes. However, nuclear watchdogs say Iran’s level of uranium enrichment is much higher than what a country would need for peaceful purposes.
Previously, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei took a hard line against negotiations, saying that Iran would not be “bullied” into negotiations that seek to impose foreign expectations on the Islamic Republic.
