By JNS—
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said on Tuesday that any war with his country would be “the mother of all wars,” and insisted that Iran be allowed free travel in the Strait of Gibraltar.
“Peace with Iran is the mother of all peace, war with Iran is the mother of all wars,” said Rouhani, according to the Reuters news agency.
Speaking live on national Iranian television, Rouhani also demanded “a strait for a strait,” saying that “it can’t be that the Strait of Hormuz is free for you and the Strait of Gibraltar is not free for us,” referring to ongoing tensions between Iran and Western powers in the Strait of Hormuz, where Iran has recently captured thee oil tankers.
Tensions began in June when the United States accused Iran of shooting down a U.S. reconnaissance aircraft and came close to launching strikes against the country. Soon after that, Britain seized an Iranian tanker off the Gibraltar coast, accusing it of carrying oil to Syria in violation of E.U. sanctions.
Since then, Iran has seized three oil tankers in the Strait of Hormuz, and is currently holding two of them in Iranian waters.
The United States responded by announcing the formation of a coalition, dubbed “Operation Sentinel,” to secure vessels in the Persian Gulf. Continue Reading….
