Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said on Thursday that the consequence of a Saudi or U.S. military strike on Iran would be an “all-out war.”

The rhetoric between the U.S. and Iran has escalated in recent days following attacks on two Saudi oil facilities that Washington and Riyadh have blamed on Tehran. Tehran denies involvement.

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Wednesday called the attacks an “act of war” by Iran.

“I make a very serious statement about defending our country,” Zarif told U.S. broadcaster CNN.

“We believe that a military confrontation based on deception is awful … but we won’t blink to defend our territory,” he said. (dpa/NAN)