TEHRAN — A top Iranian official has warned that the government is prepared for a long war with the US, signaling a hardening of Tehran’s stance on the conflict. In an interview with CNN, Kamal Kharrazi, head of Iran’s Strategic Council on Foreign Relations, said there is currently no room for diplomacy with the United States. Kharrazi said that the United States and Israel attacked Iran twice during the course of negotiations. “I don’t see any room for diplomacy anymore. Because Donald Trump had been deceiving others and not keeping with his promises, and we experienced this in two times of negotiations – that while we were engaged in negotiation, they struck us,” Kharazi told CNN on Monday. “There’s no room unless the economic pressure would be built up to the extent that other countries would intervene to guarantee (the) termination of aggression of Americans and Israelis against Iran,” Kharazi said, suggesting that Gulf Arab countries and beyond need to put pressure on the US to end the war. “This war has been producing a lot of pressure – economic pressure – on others, in terms of inflation, in terms of lack of energy, and so if it will be continued, this pressure will be built up more, and therefore others have no choice (but) to intervene,” he said. Since the US and Israel launched the war, Iran has struck a slew of countries across the Middle East. Tehran claims it is targeting US interests in Gulf nations but residential buildings and airports have also repeatedly come under attack. The Iranian strikes have exploited the fragility of the global energy trade including infrastructure and transit routes. Maritime traffic through the Straight of Hormuz has all but collapsed, with crude oil prices surging past $100 a barrel on Monday, rattling wallets and the stock market. An estimated 20% of world oil supply has been disrupted by the ongoing conflict, roughly twice as big as the record set during the Suez Crisis of 1956-1957, according to historical data from Rapidan Energy Group. Kharrazi noted that he does not believe Iran will be able to negotiate with the United States in the future. Asked whether Iran might negotiate with Washington at some point, he replied: “I don’t think so—unless there are guarantees that the Americans and Israelis would not dare to attack Iran again.” Responding to a CNN question about Trump’s remarks regarding a role in selecting Iran’s next leader, Kharrazi said: “That has nothing to do with him.” He added that Iranians are mature enough to manage their own affairs, noting that they had already demonstrated this in the selection of Mojtaba Khamenei. “The Iranian system is fully functioning,” he said, adding that the issue of leadership succession is already provided for in Iran’s constitution. “Therefore, the system is working, and it has nothing to do with Donald Trump or any other individual interfering in Iran’s internal affairs.” — Agencies
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