TEHRAN Iranian Defense Minister Amir Hatami on Wednesday vowed that Iranwould“defeat the U.S.-Zionist front based on its national will and itsformidable military,” according to Iran’s Mehr news agency.
“The Islamic Republic is now at peak military preparedness with a view todeterring any threat,” Mehr quoted Hatami as saying at an event in capitalTehran.
Iran’s state-run IRNA news agency, meanwhile, quoted the defense ministeras hailing “the failure of Washington’s plans in the region after thedefeat of militant groups in Iraq and Syria”.
“Following these shameful defeats, the Americans have resorted tofull-scale economic warfare against the Iranian people,” the news agencyquoted him as saying.
“Iran has always frustrated Washington’s plots,” he added. “TheU.S.-Zionist front will taste the bitterness of defeat this time as well.”
Read Top Stories
Hatami’s comments come amid mounting tension between Iran and the U.S.after the Pentagon announced the deployment earlier this week of anaircraft carrier strike group to the Persian Gulf.
The Pentagon justified the naval deployment by citing “intelligence” of apossible looming Iranian attack on U.S. interests in the region.
Tehran responded to the escalation by threatening to close the Strait ofHormuz, a main artery for global oil shipments linking the Persian Gulf tothe Gulf of Oman. -AA/AFP
