Tehran, June 28 (RHC)-- Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif says the U.S. mistakenly thinks a potential war with Iran will be a short one, rejecting the speculation as an “illusion” and a “misconception,” and adding that the beginner of such war would not be necessarily the party that ends it.

Zarif made the remarks in a tweet on Thursday, in reaction to U.S. President Donald Trump’s claim that any conflict between the two countries would not last very long.  “Misconceptions endanger peace @realDonaldTrump:” he said, adding: “Short war’ with Iran is an illusion.”

Speaking to Fox Business about the quality of a hypothetical American war against Iran, Trump had alleged: "I'm not talking boots on the ground.  I'm just saying if something would happen, it wouldn't last very long."  The apparent reference is that the U.S. president does not plan to involve ground forces in a war with Iran, so such conflict "would not last long."

Zarif also pointed to a tweet posted by Trump on Tuesday, in which he had said the Islamic Republic would be met with “obliteration” if it ever attacked “anything American.”  Zarif had told CNN earlier that the U.S. was “incapable” of acting on such threats, that Trump was “certainly wrong” in making the claim, and that Washington was not in any position to “obliterate” Iran, unless it resorted to using “prohibited weapons.”

In another part of his tweet, Iran's top diplomat noted that despite U.S. claims that it is imposing sanctions on Iran as an alternative to war, those sanctions actually amount to a full-fledged economic war against the Islamic Republic.

Iran’s foreign minister says the US is waging “economic terrorism” against the country by impeding the relief efforts targeting flood-stricken people.  He finally reiterated an assertion repeatedly made by Iranian authorities, including himself, that Washington cannot expect dialogue as a foreseeable outcome if it was holding on to its pressures and threats against the country.