“US waging psychological war with carrier deployment”

Chairman of the Iranian Parliament's National Security and Foreign Policy Commission Heshmatollah Falahatpisheh said the US is aware of its inability to start a military confrontation with Iran in the Persian Gulf.

He added that Washington is only waging a "psychological war" against Tehran with deploying its aircraft carriers in the region.

“Analysis of the behavior of Americans shows that they do not seek a military confrontation with Iran and are only waging a psychological war against the Islamic Republic,” Falahatpisheh said, adding that the US government is trying to combine its psychological war against Iran with sanctions and other forms of economic pressure.

The Iranian lawmaker made the remarks after a closed-door meeting of lawmakers with Commander of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) Major General Hossein Salami on Sunday.

Referring to heightened presence of American forces in West Asia, particularly in the Persian Gulf, Falahatpisheh said that Iran is capable of hitting its targets from a distance of 2,000 kilometers in line with its defensive policy, while American warships will be at a maximum distance of 500 kilometers away from Iran and they know that in no other war, their defeat will not be so evident.

Elsewhere in his remarks, Falahatpisheh said Iran is fully prepared in the event of any confrontation, but reiterated that the ongoing developments would not end in war.

He emphasized that no Iranian official would call Trump at all, saying, "Americans will be obliged in the future to raise the issue of negotiations with Iranians more seriously and they will certainly see that the issue of Iran will be different from any other country like North Korea."

The United States is ratcheting up economic and military pressure on Iran, with US President Donald Trump on Thursday urging Tehran to talk to him.

EA