Baghdad: Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic asserted that the United States will launch a military strike against Iran within the next 48 hours, deeming this scenario “inevitable” given the current escalation.

According to National Iraqi News Agency, in remarks to Pink TV, Vucic stated, “I expect an attack on Iran and some other significant developments within the next 48 hours,” expressing his conviction that this has become “inevitable and unavoidable.”

The Serbian president’s statements come amidst a dangerous escalation of tensions in the Middle East. Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei had previously warned that any war waged by the United States against Iran this time would have a broad regional dimension.

On the diplomatic front, the European Union imposed sanctions on Thursday targeting 15 Iranian officials and six legal entities. Kaja Kallas, the EU’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, announced the bloc’s decision to designate the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as a terrorist organization.

In an immediate response, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi described the European move as a “strategic mistake,” while the General Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces held European politicians fully responsible for the consequences of this decision.

For his part, US President Donald Trump stated that a large naval fleet was en route to Iran, while simultaneously expressing his hope that Tehran would agree to sit down at the negotiating table. The US president recalled the strikes Washington launched against Iranian nuclear facilities in June 2015, warning that “the next attack will be much worse,” and calling for action to “prevent it from happening.”

In contrast, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian stated on Saturday that “resolving issues through diplomacy takes precedence over war,” adding that Tehran firmly believes that war will benefit neither Iran, nor the United States, nor the region. Pezeshkian expressed his hope that the other side would realize that “threats and force will not compel Iran to negotiate.”