In warning to US, Iran FM says any fireworks will backfire badly

Iran has warned that Israeli agent provocateurs are planning to provoke a war through attacks on American forces in Iraq, advising outgoing US President Donald Trump to avoid falling in such a “trap.”

Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif issued the warning in a post on his official Twitter account on Saturday on the first anniversary of the assassination of Iran’s legendary anti-terror commander Lieutenant General Qassem Soleimani by the United States.

“New intelligence from Iraq indicate that Israeli agent-provocateurs are plotting attacks against Americans—putting an outgoing Trump in a bind with a fake casus belli,” the top Iranian diplomat said.

New intelligence from Iraq indicate that Israeli agent-provocateurs are plotting attacks against Americans—putting an outgoing Trump in a bind with a fake casus belli.

Be careful of a trap, @realDonaldTrump. Any fireworks will backfire badly, particularly against your same BFFs.

— Javad Zarif (@JZarif) January 2, 2021

Zarif advised Trump to be cautious of the trap, adding, “Any fireworks will backfire badly, particularly against your same BFFs", (an initialism for best friends forever).

His tweet came after two nuclear-capable American B-52 bombers flew over the Persian Gulf on Wednesday after nonstop flights to the region from their US-based hangars. It was the third time in six weeks that American bombers were conducting long-range flights off the Iranian coast.

The latest deployments came after the US Navy announced the arrival of a nuclear-powered submarine in the Persian Gulf last week. The USS Georgia passed the Strait of Hormuz accompanied by two American warships, making it the first missile-loaded submarine of its kind to enter the Persian Gulf in eight years.

The region has witnessed escalating tensions since outgoing US President Trump accused Iran of playing a role in attacks on the American embassy in Iraq late last month, which Tehran has dismissed as false flag operations.

A senior commander of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) on Saturday warned certain regional Arab countries against the adverse consequences of their cooperation with the United States and the Israeli regime, saying they will sustain the most damage in case of any possible war in the region.

Regional Arab states to hurt most in case of war in region: IRGC commander

A senior IRGC commander says Iran makes no distinction between US bases and their host countries in case of any possible war in the region.

“The US and the Zionist regime (Israel) have not brought security to any place and if something happens here (in the region) and a war breaks out, we will make no distinction between the US bases and the countries hosting them,” Commander of the IRGC Aerospace Division Brigadier General Amir-Ali Hajizadeh Hajizadeh said in an interview with Lebanon's al-Manar television network.

Earlier on Saturday, Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs reasserted Trump’s “crucial role” in promoting terrorism, from al-Qaeda to Daesh, in the West Asia region.

“It's a well-documented fact, which's been admitted by Trump, that US has had a crucial role in the rise of terrorism in our region, from AQ to ISIS,” the ministry said in a tweet.

It's a well-documented fact, which's been admitted by Trump, that US has had a crucial role in the rise of terrorism in our region, from AQ to ISIS.
Not surprising that the US assassination of Gen #Soleimani was cheered by ISIS: brothers in arms.#WillNeverForgetWillNeverForgive pic.twitter.com/x8vVRombQ8

— Iran Foreign Ministry 🇮🇷 (@IRIMFA_EN) January 2, 2021

It also described the United States and the Daesh terrorist group as “brothers in arms.”

“Not surprising that the US assassination of Gen #Soleimani was cheered by ISIS: brothers in arms,” the tweet read.

The US military assassinated General Soleimani, the commander of the Quds Force of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps, along with Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, deputy head of Iraq’s Popular Mobilization Units (PMU), and their companions by targeting their vehicle outside Baghdad International Airport on January 3, 2020.

Some 'inside US' may avenge Trump-authorized Soleimani assassination: IRGC

Commander of the Quds Force of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) says people inside the US may take revenge for the assassination of Iranian anti-terror commander, Lieutenant General Qassem Soleimani.

The cowardly act of terror was carried out under the direction of Trump, with the Pentagon taking responsibility for the strike.

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