TEHRAN -- The deputy 
commander-in-chief of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps said Iran is fully prepared to carry out “powerful and painful” military operations against its enemies and warned that any future strikes could extend beyond the region.
Major General Mostafa Izadi, in an interview with the Lebanon-based Al Mayadeen channel, said Iran has increased its military readiness and capabilities following the 40-day war with the United States and Israel, during which he said Iran demonstrated it could carry out powerful operations with resolve, strength and readiness.
“This time, we are fully prepared, with greater readiness and more capabilities, to carry out painful operations and strikes against the enemy,” Izadi said, adding that no threat or sanction can stop Iran from growing stronger.
The IRGC warned that any future attacks could extend beyond the region and the occupied Palestinian territories, reaching targets outside the region. 
Izadi said Iran’s armed forces would respond immediately and decisively to any act of aggression, irrespective of the threat’s scale or nature and without geographical limits. 
He said Iran’s deterrent capabilities have reached a level that allows its commanders to thwart all enemy plans, and that the armed forces would crush oppression and tyranny at their roots.
Izadi commended Hezbollah fighters for standing up to what he called the “satanic power” of the Israeli occupation, saying they fought with an Ashura-inspired spirit and emerged victorious. 
He reaffirmed Tehran’s support for Hezbollah and the people of Lebanon, saying the Iranian people stand firmly with them, and voiced hope that the Lebanese people would remain committed to the path of the late Hezbollah Secretary General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, whom he described as a great leader and eminent scholar.
According to the IRGC deputy chief, fear of Iranian attacks has driven enemy vessels hundreds of kilometers away, and the enemy has acknowledged a significant depletion of its missile stockpiles following Iran’s devastating attacks on its bases.
“We will remain faithful to our pledge to our martyrs until our last breath, and we will resolutely avenge the blood of the martyred Imam,” Izadi said.