Senior Iranian official: "We pray that we will fight the American army on the ground"
An Iranian military official rejected President Donald Trump's remarks that Iran is becoming more serious about negotiations, describing the conflict as a "war of attrition." The exchange follows two weeks of US strikes across Iran.
A senior Iranian official rejected remarks by US President Donald Trump that Iran is "becoming more serious" regarding negotiations, even hinting that Tehran welcomes the possibility of a ground invasion by American soldiers.
"Our war with the enemy is a war of attrition, one that will not end. We ask God that the ground forces of the aggressive US army find themselves in a position where we can fight them on the ground," said the military official, identified by Iranian media as General Asadi, on Saturday.
This exchange occurred after a period of nearly two weeks in which the United States has been carrying out strikes across Iran, marking the most severe escalation since a memorandum of understanding reduced the level of hostility between the sides.
On Friday, Trump stated that the United States and Iran are in talks and that he believes Tehran is becoming "more and more serious." "We are talking to them. I think they are getting more serious as the days go by, maybe for an obvious reason, but we are talking to them right now," Trump told reporters in the Oval Office. He noted that while he thinks Iran "would love to have a deal," he does not believe the country is "ready for it yet." According to a source familiar with the matter who spoke with CNN, his comments followed a meeting with advisors to discuss a possible escalation of the war.
At the same time, an editorial in the "Nour News" channel, which is close to Iran's Supreme National Security Council, claimed on Saturday that "Washington is now seeking to change the rules of the game and turn the bilateral crisis between Iran and the United States into a confrontation between Iran and the international community." Referring to American accusations that Iran blocked maritime traffic in the Strait of Hormuz, the article added: "The country that was accused today of threatening global trade was previously attacked twice in the middle of negotiation processes."
