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Iran sees little chance of enemy attack: military chief
A staff member removes the Iranian flag from the stage during the Iran nuclear talks at the Vienna International Center in Vienna, Austria, July 14, 2015. PHOTO BY REUTERS/Carlos Barria
02/09/2017
DUBAI (Reuters) - - Enemies are unlikely to attack Iran, especially on the ground, the country's military chief predicted on Saturday, saying even "unwise" leaders in the West know that any such conflict would have huge costs for them.
U.S. President Donald Trump, adopting an aggressive posture towards Iran after its test launch of a ballistic missile, said in February that "nothing is off the table" in dealing with Tehran, and the White House said it was putting Iran "on notice".
"In the remote case of an aggression (by enemies), this won't be on the ground because they would face brave warriors," Iran's semi-official news agency Tasnim quoted military chief of staff General Mohammad Baqeri as saying.
"Thank God, even the unwise who lead world arrogance (the West)... can conclude that attacking the Islamic Republic would entail heavy costs," Baqeri said at an air defense exhibition.
"Even if they would control the start of an aggression, they would not have a say about its end and they won't even be able to limit the war to Iran's borders," Baqeri added.
The United States imposed unilateral sanctions against Iran last month after saying the ballistic missile tests violated a U.N. 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.
(Reporting by Dubai newsroom; Editing by Ros Russell)
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