Ex-IRGC commander says policy of both war and negotiations is over

Major General Mohsen Rezaei, former chief commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) during the eight-year Sacred Defense (1980-1988), said that the policy of both war and negotiations is over. He stated that US President Donald Trump would tear up the Islamabad memorandum of understanding (MoU) like the Iran nuclear deal (JCPOA). Rezaei asserted that the Americans never intended to implement the MoU and only sought to pressure Iran into accepting their demands. He noted that despite the formation of a Dispute Settlement Committee involving Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and the Emir of Qatar, the US never used this mechanism because they knew they would be condemned for their violations.

Rezaei emphasized that the enemy is trying to carry out new operations by bombing the provinces of Khuzestan, Bushehr, Hormozgan, and Sistan and Baluchestan, attacking barracks, hospitals, and bridges connecting the north and south. He said the Iranian Armed Forces have responded decisively with successive heavy attacks and strikes, and this trend will continue. He added that the Armed Forces have so far not sought to expand the war or launch an invasion, and during the 12-day war (June 13), they tried to keep the conflict from spreading to the region, not even attacking US bases in Kuwait and other countries. However, after the 12-day war, a warning was issued that if the war resumed, it would become a regional conflict, which was realized when the enemy resumed hostilities.

Regarding the Strait of Hormuz, Rezaei said the United States seeks to participate in its management and the world's energy bottleneck to gain control over oil and gasoline prices. He stated that neither Iran, Russia, China, nor even European countries accept this, as it could pave the way for a global conflict from the Persian Gulf region. Rezaei reiterated that the policy of both war and negotiation has ended, and if the Americans continue the war within the next two to three days, the Islamic Republic of Iran will enter an aggressive and destructive phase and will no longer suffice with reciprocity. In that case, American bases and forces will not be safe on any political border.

According to Mehr News, Rezaei made these remarks in a recent interview.