TEHRAN -- Iran will respond directly to any threat originating from the Zionist regime, Army Ground Forces Commander Brigadier General Kiumars Heydari says, in the Islamic Republic’s latest warning to Israel.
Gen. Heydari made the remarks at the Imam Ali Army Officer University in Tehran Thursday, where a national conference on emerging and ground-breaking sciences and technologies in defense-security fields was underway.
He touched on Operation True Promise, Iran’s first direct military strike on Israel, in which the Islamic Republic responded to Israel’s attack on its diplomatic premises in Syria with a volley of loitering munitions, cruise and ballistic missiles last month.
“Operation True Promise brought the destruction of the Zionist regime several steps forward,” Gen. Heydari said. “If there is a threat originating from the Zionist regime against us, it will be answered directly by the Islamic Republic.”
“Today, if the tyrants of the world are recklessly threatening others, it is not with the force of the sword and physical strength, but on the basis of the knowledge they have acquired and mastered,” Gen. Heydari said.
“Today, the battlefield and its complexities cannot be managed without paying attention to new power generating sciences and technologies. Therefore, we must respond decisively to the threats that endanger our scientific entity,” he added.
The commander touched on efforts made in the Army Ground Forces to expand the bedrock of science and technology in the force.
“We did our best day and night to create a suitable platform for spreading science in the Army Ground Forces, the result of which, for example, is the helicopters which can fly in night missions,” he said. 
“The factor that has made the Army Ground Forces play a role in breaking the deadlocks is the existence of honest scientists within the force,” he added.