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In a February 12 TV interview, former Iranian FM Ali Akbar Velayati, Supreme Leader Khamenei's Advisor on International Affairs, recently said that he was not at all worried about American threats. "If America imagines that threats and sanctions will lead Iran to stop its missile program, this is a misconception, a mere fantasy," he said. Emphasizing that "America is not strong enough to bring us to our knees," Velayati further said: "If any attack takes place, the response by Iran and its allies in the region will be harsh and will paint the days of the U.S. administration black. In the interview, which aired on the Al-Jazeera network, he called Trump's policies "immature" and said that he had great confidence in Iran's relations with Russia and that he did not believe that the U.S. president would enjoy a long honeymoon with Russia because "Mr. Trump is fickle and changes his policies every other day."
Ali Akbar Velayati: "We are used to this kind of American rhetoric. Mr. Trump has confused the world of politics with Hollywood. His policies are not a script for a Hollywood fantasy film. Running a country like America is not an easy thing. All of Trump's predecessors faced similar problems. The most important things is that he has failed, especially with us in Iran. Mr. Trump does not possess special qualifications that would enable him to claim that he wants to take over the world. His policies are immature and have led him to a confrontation with the whole world - from Europe to Asia, and the Islamic countries."
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"We believe that Trump will suffer a severe headache throughout his rule, and will reach a dead end in record time - faster than all the presidents who preceded him. Iran will oppose this man, and will teach him a lesson, just as it did with all the U.S. presidents in the past. Iran will not be the only one. The Islamic world will also participate in this."
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"Trump should consult with the officials who preceded him, and learn from them how his statements could be more calculated, so that he does not have to change these statements every other day."
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"Threats do not bother us. Iran is not a rogue state. It has a history of thousands of years, and has managed to overcome all the hostile challenges through resistance and steadfastness. Even when America was powerful it failed to withstand the Islamic Revolution, and today it is weaker, as Trump himself emphasizes."
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"The Americans have failed in Iraq and in Syria, as well as in Afghanistan. Today, Iran is considered the backbone of Islamic revival in the region."
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"In the event that America makes an uncalculated mistake - especially since it has a president who does not take anything into account - it shall suffer a resounding failure."
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"Nobody in Iran cares about the American military threats. This is not the first time that Iran is threatened militarily. In his day, Mr. Obama would always say that the military option was 'on the table.' But we continued our support of the legitimate governments in Iraq and Syria, as well as our special support of the resistance in Lebanon, in defiance of the American threats and empty slogans, and of those coming from its allies and collaborators in the region. Ultimately, who won? We and our allies emerged victorious. That is why America escalated its military threats, and tried to divide Iraq and to topple the Syrian regime. But it has not succeeded in doing so. America has tested its power several times in the past, and ultimately, it failed. I do not believe that reiterating those slogans today will lead to anything, except for shattering America's hegemony and its awe in the eyes of its allies. The statements of the U.S. president will turn out to be mere words nobody relies upon."
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"If America imagines that threats and sanctions will lead Iran to stop its missile program, this is a misconception, a mere fantasy. We will definitely continue and complete our defensive program, and especially the missile program, regardless of the price."
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"We continue our policies. Mr. Trump should collect his forces and withdraw from the region. Today, America is not loved by the peoples of this region. America is abhorred and has no standing here. For our part, we are coordinating our policy, based on coordination and cooperation."
Interviewer: "What if the U.S. deals Iran a military blow?"
Ali Akbar Velayati: "Iran is not a small and weak country. It is a big country. These threats do not scare us. Ultimately, we have reached where we are today, through resistance and steadfastness in the face of the enemies, especially in the face of the threats of the U.S. and the Zionist entity."
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"We are not at all worried about the American threats. We are not worried that the U.S. might implement its threats. Iran did not gain its independence easily, and it shall not relinquish it easily. We did not build the Islamic Republic easily, and we shall not relinquish it easily. We paid the price in hundreds of thousands of martyrs, wounded, and handicapped people. America is not strong enough to bring us to our knees. Other countries, weaker than Iran, have defeated America and brought it to its knees. Is Mr. Trump unaware that the previous administrations paid a steep price in the region, yet failed to accomplish their goals? The victor in the end was Iran. Trump himself admitted to this. This is an implied admission that America is weak. America does not dare to attack Iran. If any attack takes place, the response by Iran and its allies in the region will be harsh and will paint the days of the U.S. administration black."
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"We do not believe that Mr. Trump will enjoy a long honeymoon with Russia. I think it is unlikely that Mr. Trump will have any friend in the world, if he continues his current policies."
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"I think it is unlikely that this honeymoon will continue for a long time, because Mr. Trump is fickle and changes his policies every other day. Therefore, I say that we have great confidence in our relations with Russia."
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