The United States is not planning for a war with Iran and instead is trying to stop the Iranians from contributing to the violence in Iraq, US Defense Secretary Robert Gates said on Friday.
"The President has made clear, the Secretary of State has made clear, I've made clear ... we are not planning for a war with Iran," he told reporters, according to Reuters. "What we are trying to do is, in Iraq, counter what the Iranians are doing to our soldiers, their involvement and activities, particularly these explosively-formed projectiles that are killing our troops and we're trying to get them to stop their nuclear enrichment," Gates said.
In Tehran, Substitute Friday prayers leader Hojjatoleslam Ahmad Khatami on Friday warned the US against its "ineffective and exhausted" threats against Iran. "Americans should know that their threatening approach towards Iranian government and nation is exhausted and no longer effective and Iranian people pay no attention to that," said Khatami, according to IRNA.
He said the US statesmen should learn to use a proper literature to speak to the world.
