A prominent reformist lawmaker in Iran has reportedly said the Islamic Republic "under no circumstance" will enter a war with the U.S., either directly or through proxy forces.
Heshmatollah Falahatpisheh's comments on Wednesday, reported by the semi-official ILNA news agency, come amid heightened tensions between Tehran and Washington a year after President Donald Trump pulled America from Iran's nuclear deal with world powers.
Falahatpisheh was quoted as saying that "under no circumstance will we enter a war."
In this Monday, May 20, 2019 photo, an FA-18E Super Hornet from the ìFist of the Fleetî of Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 25 lands on the flight deck of the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln in the Arabian Sea. (Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Jeff ShermanU.S. Navy via AP)
He added: "No group can announce that it has entered a proxy war from Iran's side."
That comes as Yemen's Iranian-allied Houthi rebels have launched drone attacks on Saudi Arabia amid the heightened tensions. The United Arab Emirates also says four oil tankers off its eastern coast were sabotaged.
In this Monday, May 20, 2019 photo, released by U.S. Navy, an E-2D Hawkeye from the "Bluetails" of Carrier Airborne Early Warning Squadron (VAW) 121 lands on the flight deck of the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72) on Arabian Sea. (Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Jeff ShermanU.S. Navy via AP)