Iran and USA threaten each other with war and then back off

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi said on Friday January 2 that Iran would not start a war with the United States. At the same time, he added, Iran is ready to give a decisive response to any offender, Middle Eastern media reported.

"We will not start a war, but if someone wants to oppress us, they will receive a decisive response," Raisi said.

According to him, previously representatives of the US administration stated that they were considering a military option in relation to Iran, but now they "say that they do not seek war with Iran.”

Iran's spiritual leader Ali Khamenei also ordered to avoid a direct military conflict with the United States, The New York Times said.

US intelligence officials believe Iran does not have full control over its proxy groups, Politico said.

The United States has approved plans to strike targets in Iran, as well as military personnel in Iraq and Syria, CBS reports.

It is worthy of note that Iran was reducing the rate of enriched uranium production, IAEA Director General Grossi said. A surge in its production began immediately after the escalation in Gaza, but now the process has slowed down. The New York Times believes that this may be due to Tehran's desire to prevent escalation with the United States.

Meanwhile, Yemeni Ansarullah group mobilised and trained about 600,000 fighters, a representative of the group said.