Iran’s IRGC says more ‘devastating’ weapons to be used if new war begins

Tehran, Aug 20 (IANS) Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has said the country will use more “devastating” weapons if a new war begins against it.

Following the 12-day and 40-day wars imposed against the country in June last year and late February by the United States and Israel, Iran has expanded its military capabilities, IRGC spokesperson Hossein Mohebbi said in an interview with Iran’s Defa Press news agency, which was published on Thursday.

“If another war begins, our weapons will definitely be different … in terms of the generation of missiles’ warheads, as well as their precision and range,” Mohebbi said.

The spokesperson emphasised that Iran has never stopped its armaments production, adding, “The destructive power of the warheads used in the IRGC’s (new) missiles is far greater than the models used in the previous wars,” Xinhua News Agency reported.

On Monday, Mohebbi rejected US President Donald Trump’s claim that there is a backchannel for talks between Washington and the IRGC.

In an interview with the semi-official Tasnim news agency, Spokesperson Mohebbi called Trump’s claim a “delusion,” saying no dialogue is going on between the IRGC officials and the Americans.

Even Iran’s diplomatic apparatus is not currently negotiating with the United States owing to Washington’s “breach of promises,” Mohebbi added.

Separately, at Monday’s press conference, Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei denied media reports of unofficial contact between Washington and the IRGC via Iraqi Kurdistan officials and an alleged secret US-Iran meeting in Erbil.

The news is “media techniques and psychological operations used to sow discord among Iran’s decision-making bodies,” Baghaei said.

Fox News reported earlier that Trump confirmed there is a backchannel for peace talks between Washington and the IRGC.

A ceasefire was reached between the warring parties on April 8. On June 18, Iran and the United States signed a memorandum of understanding on ending the war in the region on all fronts. However, hostilities between the two countries have repeatedly erupted since then.

–IANS

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