Iran Foreign Minister: We Are Waiting For U.S. Ground Troops To Invade, “That Would Be A Disaster For Them”
Iran Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, in an interview with NBC News correspondent Tom Llamas on Thursday, said the country is waiting for the United States to invade and boasted that the nation is prepared after learning “lots of lessons” from the previous strike. “We were ready for this war even more than the previous war,” Araghchi told NBC News. “So you can see, you know, the quality of our missiles, how much they are upgraded after the last war, because we learned lots of lessons. And we are prepared for any other eventuality, even, you know, a ground invasion.”
TOM LLAMAS, NBC NEWS: And I asked Iran’s foreign minister about whether his country is prepared for a possible ground invasion from American troops. Watch this. LLAMAS: President Trump has not ruled out boots on the ground in Iran. Are you afraid of a U.S. invasion in your country? ABBAS ARAGHCHI, IRANIAN FOREIGN MINISTER: No, we are waiting for them. LLAMAS: You are waiting for the U.S. military to invade, the ground troops? ARAGHCHI: Yes, because we are confident that we can confront them. And that would be a big disaster for them. LLAMAS: So you’re saying that Iran is ready and willing to take on the U.S. military if there were to be ground troops? ARAGHCHI: Well, we were ready for this war even more than the previous war. So you can see, you know, the quality of our missiles, how much they are upgraded after the last war, because we learned lots of lessons. And we are prepared for any other eventuality, even, you know, a ground invasion. So our soldiers are prepared for any scenario. When I said that we are waiting for them, it didn’t mean that we are waiting for continuation of the war. No. But we have prepared ourselves to confront with any scenario, with any eventuality, any possibility. And we know that we can handle that. LLAMAS: Are your allies, are your allies, Russia and China, helping you? ARAGHCHI: Well, they are supporting us politically and otherwise. LLAMAS: Are they supporting you militarily? ARAGHCHI: Well, military cooperation between Iran and Russia is not a secret. You know, we have worked with each other in the past and that has continued, you know, and will continue, I hope, I guess. LLAMAS: And they are actively helping you in this war? ARAGHCHI: Well, they have always helped us. LLAMAS: So I’m going to understand that to mean yes, that they are actively assisting you in this war? ARAGHCHI: Well, I’m not going to give the details of our cooperation with other countries right in the middle of the war.
