DUBAI: US President Donald Trump will fail in his confrontation with Iran, just like Iraq's Saddam Hussein, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said on Saturday, referring to the war between the two Middle Eastern powers and vowing that Tehran will not abandon its missiles.
Tensions have ramped up between Iran and the United States after Trump withdrew from a landmark multilateral nuclear deal in May and reimposed sanctions on the Islamic Republic last month.
As Rouhani spoke, Iran began displaying its naval power in the Gulf during annual parades in the capital Tehran and the port of Bandar Abbas on the Gulf marking the start of the country’s 1980-88 war with Iraq.
Iran has suggested in recent weeks that it could take military action in the Gulf to block other countries’ oil exports in retaliation for US sanctions intended to halt its sales of crude.
Washington maintains a fleet in the Gulf that protects oil shipping routes.
"The same will happen to Trump. America will suffer the same fate as Saddam Hussein," Rouhani said in a speech carried live by state television.
"Iran will not abandon its defensive weapons ... including its missiles that make America so angry," Rouhani said.
State media said about 600 vessels took part in the Gulf naval drill on Saturday, a day after Iran held aerial exercises in the waterway, vowing that a "pounding reply" awaited the country's enemies.
Iran will defeat Trump just like it did Saddam, won't abandon missiles: Rouhani
Iran will defeat Trump just like it did Saddam, won't abandon missiles: Rouhani
- Iran has suggested in recent weeks that it could take military action in the Gulf to block other countries’ oil exports
- Tensions have ramped up between Iran and the US after Trump withdrew from a landmark multilateral nuclear deal in May
Israel military says Iran fires new wave of missiles at country
- Israeli broadcaster Channel 12 reported several injuries from the Iranian strikes near Tel Aviv
JERUSALEM: Israel’s military said Wednesday that it detected missiles heading toward the country from Iran and had activated air defenses, as it pressed a “wave” of strikes against Iran and Lebanon.
“A short while ago, the IDF identified missiles launched from Iran toward the territory of the State of Israel. Defensive systems are operating to intercept the threat,” the military said on its official Telegram account.
AFP journalists heard air raid sirens sounding in Jerusalem and the sound of explosions in the distance.
A short time later, Israel’s military said it was permitted to leave shelters.
Israel’s Magen David Adom emergency services reported no immediate injuries following the missile fire, but said its teams were treating “a small number of people who were injured on their way to protected areas.”
Israeli broadcaster Channel 12 reported several injuries from the Iranian strikes near Tel Aviv.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said they targeted a satellite communications center in Haifa, along with military bases in Israel, and US targets elsewhere in the Middle East including Iraqi Kurdistan and the US Fifth Fleet naval base in Bahrain.
“We will continue our sustained attacks with purpose and power, and in this war, we contemplate nothing but the enemy’s complete surrender,” the Guards said on their website Sepah News.
