US Warned Against Making Reckless Moves

A senior advisor to the Leader of Islamic Revolution warned that the US administration will face "dark days" if it conducts any military attack on Iran. In an interview with Al Jazeera published on Thursday, Ali Akbar Velayati, a foreign policy advisor to the Leader of Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, said Washington does not dare carry out its military threats against Iran.

"The Americans know very well that Iran and its allies in the region would retaliate very hard, which will make America face dark days to come," he said. Last week, the US imposed new sanctions on Iran over a missile test.

Velayati said Iran's policies in the Middle East will not change, "therefore [US President Donald] Trump and the American administration must get their stuff together and leave this region completely because the people of this region feel alienated by their policies". Velayati said the US effort to make Iran stop its missile program with military threats amounted to "worthless fantasies".

"Without the slightest doubt, I can guarantee you that we will continue to develop our military programs, especially our defense missile program, no matter what and at any cost," he said.

"We do not have any worry about the US threats because for the last 38 years since the Islamic Revolution, America has not been able to do anything." Relations between the US and Iran have deteriorated since Trump took office on January 20, promising a more aggressive line on what he views as Iranian belligerence toward US interests and allies.

Last week, Michael Flynn, US national security advisor, accused Iran of violating a UN Security Council resolution that calls on Iran not to test missiles capable of delivering a nuclear weapon.

Iran confirmed it tested a ballistic missile, but denied it was a breach of a 2015 nuclear deal with world powers or UN resolutions as none of the Iranian missiles is designed to deliver nuclear payloads. 

Trump said Iran was "playing with fire" after the country dismissed his warnings over the missile test as unfounded and provocative. In a post on Twitter, Trump said his administration would not be as "kind" to Iran as the government of his predecessor, Barack Obama. "Iran is playing with fire—they don't appreciate how 'kind' President Obama was to them. Not me!" Trump said. Asked by a reporter if military action was a possibility, Trump said, "Nothing is off the table".

The US later imposed sanctions on 13 Iranians and 12 companies. Lawrence Korb, a former US assistant defense secretary, says Trump's team would probably prevent him from making irrational moves in the Middle East. "There are people like General [James] Mattis, who has a 40-year career in the military and General [John F] Kelly, who runs our department of homeland security ... who we have to hope will prevent the president from doing things that his instincts lead him to," Korb told Al Jazeera.