TEHRAN -- Iranian Defense Minister Muhammad Reza Ashtiani on Monday dismissed recent threats by Israeli officials, warning of a “crushing” response.
“Any unwise and stupid measure will trigger a crushing response from Iran that would inflict heavy costs on the aggressors,” Ashtiani said.
“The Islamic Republic has made it clear that its advanced defense power is solely aimed at safeguarding the country’s security and protecting the borders, in the meantime, it will deal with any potential threat or act of aggression,” he added.
Zionist officials have recently issued a series of threats against the Islamic Republic over the country’s nuclear program.
During his visit to Moscow earlier this month, the occupying regime’s foreign minister Yair Lapid accused Iran of building a nuclear weapon, while warning to stop it.
“The world needs to stop Iran from getting a nuclear capability, no matter the price,” Lapid said, “If the world doesn’t do it, Israel reserves the right to act.”
The Zionist regime’s war of words has escalated since an attack on an Israeli-managed tanker off the coast of Oman last month.
“We are working to rally the world, but at the same time we also know to act alone,” the regime’s premier Naftali Bennett said following the attack, pointing the finger at Iran.
General Ashtiani took a swipe at the Zionist regime, saying Tel Aviv is resorting to accusations and rhetoric against Iran “out of desperation”.
He said Israel has always faced defeat from the Iranian nation, and it only has the temerity to show hatred and resentment to the “oppressed and defenseless women and children” in Palestine.
The top defense official reaffirmed Iran’s resolve to keep up progress in the arenas of military development based on its defensive doctrine.
Iran, he said, is determined to confront the enemy on all fronts, adding that its enduring power will mark “many other glorious victories”.
Earlier, Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh dismissed allegations by the occupying regime and some Arab states against Iran’s nuclear program and its regional influence.
“Outlaw Israeli regime—sitting on illicit nukes & refusing to join NPT—again threatens NPT member Iran; a nation w(ith) world’s most inspected nuclear program,” he wrote on Twitter on Sept. 11. “The West’s darling is a habitual extorter. But world has woken up to its destabilizing nature. Iran reserves right to respond.”