Mottaki says U.S. can’t start war against Iran

Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki said on Wednesday the United States was in no position to start a war against Iran given its military commitment in Iraq.“The U.S. is not in the position to impose another war in the region against the (U.S.) taxpayers,” Mottaki told a news conference at the United Nations.

The Iranian minister said that assessment — “based on the realities in the region” — did not rule out Iranian precautions.

“Any country, based on its defense policies and doctrine, should be prepared,” he said.

The United States has said it seeks a diplomatic solution to a dispute with Tehran over its nuclear program but that no option has been taken off the table. Washington fears Iran is seeking nuclear weapons, something Tehran denies.

Mottaki, speaking in English, said that every six months there was a “kind of psychological war” relating to the U.S. option of a strike against Iran.

“We were receiving information which looked very exact of some specific hour and date the strike will take place,” he said.

In an apparent reference to the United States, Mottaki said: “They were looking … at some specific goals. The nuclear issue itself was not the goal.”

“We tried to brief our friends in the region that Iran was trying its best to avoid any confrontation in the region,” Mottaki said.

“But we do not consider the other party in a position to impose another war against their taxpayer here in the United States.”