Top Iran general claims regime could inflict ‘heavy damage’ on US in war

A top Iranian general on Wednesday claimed the United States would pay a “heavy cost” for an attack on the regime, due to Tehran’s strong deterrent capabilities.

“War against Iran will have nothing for the US but heavy costs and the Islamic Republic of Iran’s deterrent power can inflict heavy damage on the US,” Deputy Commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) Brigadier General Rasoul Sanayee Raad said, according to the Iranian semi-official Fars news agency.

The US recognizes that an “ultimate victory” over the Islamic Republic is impossible, added Raad.

“The US has understood that there will be no ultimate victory in case it opens war against Iran and that it cannot guarantee avoiding it from becoming a war of attrition,” he said.

He also stressed that US President Donald Trump would not be able to assemble a European coalition supportive of a war, adding that, “If a war happens today, increased energy prices will inflict heavy expenses on the European states.”

Iranian leaders have recently threatened to shutter the Strait of Hormuz, through which one-third of the world’s oil supply passes as it travels from the Persian Gulf. The regime has also conducted naval exercises in the waterway as a show of force while Washington prepared to reimpose sanctions on Tehran.

Earlier this month, the US vowed to keep the Strait of Hormuz open after Iranian generals backed President Hassan Rouhani’s threat to jeopardize world oil supplies if Iranian oil exports are blocked under US sanctions.

Since the US pulled out of the nuclear deal with Iran, known officially as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, Washington has been pushing allies to cut oil imports from the Islamic Republic altogether by November.

The Trump administration has vowed to stick with its pressure campaign against Iran, affirming its strategy to change Tehran’s behavior by gutting its oil revenue and isolating the country globally.

Iran is OPEC’s second-largest crude exporter with more than 2 million barrels a day.

Last month, Trump issued an intense warning against Tehran, threatening that it could “suffer consequences the likes of which few throughout history have ever seen before.”

The response came after Rouhani earlier that day issued his own warning to the US leader not to “play with the lion’s tail,” saying that conflict with Iran would be the “mother of all wars.”

However, Trump tempered the threat shortly afterwards, saying “we’re ready to make a real deal” with Iran.

Also last month, senior Australian government sources said Trump may have plans to bomb Iran’s nuclear facilities, though this was denied by then-prime minister Malcolm Turnbull.