Iran considers war of attrition against US until end of Trump term

Iran is considering prolonging its armed conflict with the United States until the end of U.S. President Donald Trump’s term as part of a strategy to strengthen deterrence against future attacks, a senior adviser to the commander of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has said.

“Look, we have to attain deterrence so that the enemy never dares to attack us, so we can live with security. One way is to prolong this war until we get to the next term of the presidency and cause attrition, so that if anyone else wants to attack Iran, they will know there is a cost,” Mohammad Reza Naqdi, a top adviser to the IRGC commander, said in a rare interview with Western media outlet PBS News.

The United States and Israel launched a military operation against Iran on February 28. In June, Washington and Tehran signed a memorandum of understanding calling for an immediate cessation of hostilities on all fronts, including in Lebanon.

However, the United States resumed large-scale strikes against Iran on the night of July 8, accusing Tehran of violating agreements related to the Strait of Hormuz.

By Sabina Mammadli