An influential politician and member of Iran’s parliament has said war between the United States and Iran would be “injustice” to both countries because it would be instigated “by third party players”.
Heshmatollah Falahatpisheh who previously headed parliament’s national security and foreign policy commission was known as a hardliner politician but in recent months he has gravitated toward a more moderate position, closer to President Hassan Rouhani. He is not in the newly elected parliament and will vacate his seat by June.
In an interview with Iran-based Borna news agency on April 4, Falahatpisheh said that currently “Iran and America have unnaturally come close to war” and the main problem is, “they obtain information about each other indirectly, through third parties”.
Falahapisheh did not name the third parties he referred to, but Iranian officials and politicians often accuse Israel and Saudi Arabia of fomenting existing tensions between Tehran and Washington.
In late December Falahatpisheh had warned Iranian leaders to stay away from conflict with the United States in Iraq, arguing that it could be a trap set by Washington. Days later, an American drone killed Iran’s top Middle East operative Qassem Soleimani in Baghdad, as he arrived from Syria.