Top Iranian official: ‘No reason for a war’ with US

A top Iranian official on Wednesday assured the nation it would not go to war with the U.S., according to Reuters, citing state news agency IRNA.

“There will not be a military confrontation between Iran and America since there is no reason for a war,” Ali Shamkhani, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, said. “Accusing other countries has turned into a common practice among U.S. officials as they try to pressure other counties.”

{mosads}The remarks come as tensions have risen recently between the Washington and Tehran.

The U.S. has blamed Iran for a recent attack on two oil tankers in the Gulf of Oman. Iran has denied all responsibility for the attack.

The United Kingdom and Saudi Arabia have backed the U.S. in blaming Iran for the incident, but Germany’s foreign minister has said more compelling evidence is needed, and the owner of one of the ships, the Japanese-owned Kokuka Courageous, has contradicted the U.S.’s account of the attack.

On Monday, the U.S. announced that it was sending an additional 1,000 troops to the Middle East for defensive purposes.

President Trump, in an interview with Time magazine this week, said he would go to war with Iran to prevent them from acquiring nuclear weapons, but called the tanker attacks “very minor” and was noncommittal on whether he would go to war over international oil supplies.

The tensions mark the culmination of ongoing friction this year between Washington and Tehran, including the U.S.’s placement of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard on its list of terrorist organizations, the first state entity placed on the list.

Meanwhile, Iran recently announced it would scale back some of its commitments under a 2015 nuclear deal that had been agreed to with the Obama administration. Trump pulled the U.S. out of the pact in 2018.