DUBAI: Enemies are unlikely to attack Iran, especially on the ground, the country鈥檚 military chief predicted on Saturday, saying even 鈥渦nwise鈥� leaders in the West know that any such conflict would have huge costs for them.
US President Donald Trump, adopting an aggressive posture toward Iran after its test launch of a ballistic missile, said in February that 鈥渘othing is off the table鈥� in dealing with Tehran, and the White House said it was putting Iran 鈥渙n notice.鈥�
鈥淚n the remote case of an aggression (by enemies), this won鈥檛 be on the ground because they would face brave warriors,鈥� Iran鈥檚 semi-official news agency Tasnim quoted military chief of staff General Mohammad Baqeri as saying.
鈥淭hank God, even the unwise who lead world arrogance (the West)... can conclude that attacking the Islamic Republic would entail heavy costs,鈥� Baqeri said at an air defense exhibition.
鈥淓ven if they would control the start of an aggression, they would not have a say about its end and they won鈥檛 even be able to limit the war to Iran鈥檚 borders,鈥� Baqeri added.
The United States imposed unilateral sanctions against Iran last month after saying the ballistic missile tests violated a UN resolution, which endorsed a 2015 nuclear deal between Tehran and world powers to lift sanctions.
The resolution called upon Tehran not to undertake activities related to ballistic missiles capable of delivering nuclear weapons, including launches using such technology. It stopped short of explicitly barring such activity.
Iran denies its missile development breaches the resolution, saying its missiles are not designed to carry nuclear weapons.