Zarif: Trump's belief that the war with Iran is short is an illusion

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said on Thursday that US President Donald Trump's view that any conflict with Iran would be a "short war" was an illusion and promised to "wipe out" the Islamic Republic to the point of threatening genocide.

"Erase = genocide = war crime," Zarif wrote on Twitter. "The short war with Iran is an illusion."

Trump said on Wednesday, "I'm just saying if something happens, it will not be very long." He also threatened on Tuesday to wipe out parts of Iran if it attacked "anything American."

For his part, Iranian Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani said that Iran does not reject the principle of negotiations with the United States.

He said in a speech in the city of Qom in central Iran that the downing of the American plane was a message to Washington not to attack the Iranian border, as he put it.

In another context, Larijani reiterated that the Iranian armed forces will respond strongly and firmly to any further breakthrough of its airspace, and said Tehran shows part of its defense capabilities.

Ease of escalation
Larijani said that Washington's calls for dialogue with his country is to cover up its failure to pressure Iran after the withdrawal from the nuclear agreement.

Diplomats said US Deputy Secretary of Defense Mark Esper had told NATO member states

North Atlantic said Thursday that the United States does not want to go to war with Iran, but will not tolerate any incidents that may occur in the future.

After a brief discussion with NATO defense ministers in a closed session, France warned Esper not to involve NATO in any military mission in the Gulf.

France, along with Germany and other European allies, has called for adherence to the nuclear deal with Iran.

In the same context, French President Emmanuel Macaron said he would do his utmost in the coming days to avoid any escalation between Iran and the United States, calling on everyone to work to reduce the tension.

"I will discuss the Iranian issue with the US president on the sidelines of the summit," he said in Tokyo, before heading to Osaka for the G-20 summit.

McCron said he told Iranian President Hassan Rowhani in a telephone conversation two days ago that abandoning the nuclear deal or any signs that Tehran would break the deal would be wrong.