Nuclear strike threat? Tehran says US has no other means to ‘obliterate’ Iran

Blatantly threatening to launch a nuclear war against another country is not only illegal under international law, Iranian FM explained, but proves that President Trump does not think through the ramifications of his rhetoric.
“There is a United Nations charter, and threat of wars is illegal,” Javad Zarif told CNN paraphrasing Article 2.4 of the UN Charter, a day after President Trump spoke menacingly about “obliterating” Iran if the Islamic Republic endangers “anything American.”

"That statement indicates that US intentions are certainly illegal. The United States is not in a position to obliterate Iran, they do not have the capability other than using prohibited weapons to do this."

Zarif did not elaborate on what exactly he meant by prohibited weapons, but he recently pointed out that the US was the only country that ever used nukes, and noted that Iran is ready to defend itself against US aggression in any scenario.

FILE PHOTO: Mushroom cloud from nuclear weapons test on Bikini Atoll, Marshall Islands in 1946 © Reuters/ US Library of Congress

The two nations stood on the brink of war last week after Iran shot down an American spy drone over its territorial waters. The US wanted to retaliate by launching air strikes against Iran, but the mission was aborted the last minute by Trump, allegedly after he was told that as many as 150 people could die.

While both countries stress that they aim to avert an all-out war, Iran continues to view American rhetoric, military and economic actions against Iran as “confrontational” and “provocative.”

Reminding the American commander-in-chief “that we don't live in the 18th century,” Zarif suggested Trump to hire new advisers, people who can fully understand the Iranian position and who can offer viable solutions to the crisis. Trump receives “wrong information, wrong analysis, and now President Trump finds himself in a situation where he believes that he needs to get out,” Zarif said.

Earlier, Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei made clear that Tehran will not negotiate with Washington until it drops its “maximum pressure” campaign and a list of demands the US wants Iran to fulfill to steer out of the crisis, which Donald Trump started when he unilaterally withdrew from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), commonly known as the Iran nuclear deal, last May.

Original: https://www.rt.com/news/462776-zarif-trump-obliteration-illegal/