TEHRAN — Iran has recently tested a new anti-ship missile near a US aircraft carrier, Secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council Mohsen Rezaei said, as Tehran warned that any further US attack would trigger a stronger response against American bases and interests across the region.

In an interview with Al Jazeera, Rezaei said Iran had identified vulnerabilities in the US military and was now better prepared than before to confront American air attacks. He stressed that Iran was serious about defending itself and would strike US bases and American interests in the region with greater force if attacked.

Rezaei said the calculations and assessments made by US President Donald Trump regarding Iran and the war had been wrong, arguing that the conflict had been instigated by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

He said Washington would be better served by accepting Iran’s conditions for ending the war, adding that Trump’s threats would not produce any results and that Iran was prepared for a decisive confrontation if hostilities continued.

Rezaei said Iran had reached a conclusion to change its strategy toward Washington following the US withdrawal from a memorandum of understanding (Islamabad MoU).

He said Iran’s military had tested the new anti-ship missile near a US aircraft carrier, describing the test as part of Iran’s preparations to confront potential US attacks.

“We know the weak points of the US military and are more prepared than before to confront its air attacks,” Rezaei said.

Tehran sets conditions for ending the war

Rezaei said consultations were continuing with Qatar and Pakistan as mediators and that Iran had conveyed its conditions for negotiations to both countries.

He said Iran remained in contact with the Qatari mediator, who had relayed Tehran’s conditions to Washington for ending the war, and that Tehran was awaiting Trump’s response.

Iran’s conditions, he said, include an end to the war on all fronts, the release of frozen Iranian funds and an end to the maritime blockade.

Iran leaves NPT withdrawal as a possibility

Rezaei also said US and Israeli actions had created circumstances that could allow Iran to withdraw from the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons  also known as NPT.

He stressed that Iran had not planned to leave the treaty and that any such move would depend on Washington’s conduct.

“We remain committed to the fatwa issued by the martyred Leader and have not changed our nuclear doctrine,” Rezaei said, adding that Iran could not predict what might happen in the future.

Iran calls for end to Saudi-Yemeni conflict
Rezaei also expressed support for an end to the conflict between Saudi Arabia and Yemen, saying he believed the Yemenis also wanted a settlement with Riyadh.