Iran
warned the United States on Thursday that it should think twice before
it enters a "collision course" with the Islamic Republic over its
nuclear program.
"The US has unfortunately lost its wisdom and
prudence in dealing with international issues. It only depends on
power," Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi told reporters during a
visit to the Libyan city of Benghazi.
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"Of course we are prepared
for the worst, but we hope that they think twice before they put
themselves on a collision course with Iran," he said.
Asked about
a missile test conducted by Israel on Wednesday, Salehi said: "That is
not important, that is not even something we bother ourselves with."
In addition to the missile test launch, Israel announced the completion of a joint exercise
between the Israel Air Force, Italy and NATO in Sardinia Wednesday,
which took place amidst intense media speculation about possible plans
to
strike Iran.
Earlier, in an interview published Thursday in the Tukeish daily
Hurriyet, Salehi said that Iran is "always ready for war," adding that if any country tried to insult Iran, it would respond fiercely.
Salehi went on to tell
Hurriyet,
“Iran has always been threatened by Israel. This is not new for us. We
have been hearing threats from Israel for eight years. Our nation is a
united nation. Its roots are deep in history. Such threats are not new
to us.”
“We are very confident of ourselves. We can defend our country.”
In addition to Israeli military exercises, a report in
The Guardian
on Wednesday speculated that the UK is
speeding up plans for targeted
missile strikes against Iranian nuclear targets, should the US lead such
a strike.