Iran will target the United States and allied Israel if the U.S. attacks the Islamic republic, a senior Iranian cleric warned on Wednesday, as a war of words following the reimposition of U.S. sanctions on Iran continued to escalate.
Ahmad Khatami was quoted by Mizan news agency as telling worshippers at Eid al-Adha prayers in Tehran that U.S. President Donald Trump's offer of talks with Iranian leaders was unacceptable, as Trump wanted Iran to concede on its missile program and regional influence.
"Americans say you should accept what we say in the talks. So this is not negotiation, but dictatorship. The Islamic republic and the Iranian nation would stand up against dictatorship," Khatami said.
"The price of a war with Iran is very high for America. They know if they harm this country and this state in the slightest way, the United States and its main ally in the region, the Zionist regime [Israel], would be targeted."
Khatami did not elaborate, but Iran has said that if it is threatened it could target Israeli cities with its missiles. Iran also has proxies in the region, including Lebanon's Hezbollah group.
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said on Tuesday that Iran's military prowess is what deterred the U.S. from attacking it, and vowed to boost Iran's military might.
The Trump administration slapped sanctions back on Iran this month after withdrawing from the 2015 international nuclear deal, saying the deal was too soft on Iran and would not stop it developing a nuclear bomb.
The new sanctions target Iran's car industry, trade in gold and other precious metals, and purchases of U.S. dollars. Trump has said the U.S. will launch another round of tougher sanctions in November that will target Iran's oil sales and banking sector.
National Security Adviser John Bolton told Reuters on Wednesday that Trump wants maximum pressure on Iran.
"There should not be any doubt that the United States wants this resolved peacefully, but we are fully prepared for any contingency that Iran creates," Bolton said.
Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has rejected Trump's offer of unconditional talks on a new nuclear deal, prompting Trump to tell Reuters in an interview on Monday: "If they want to meet, that's fine, and if they don't want to meet, I couldn't care less."
