TEHRAN -- The commander of Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC)’s Aerospace Force said Thursday that Israel is “doomed to termination” and that any move by the occupying regime against the Islamic Republic will expedite that demise.
Zionist security chiefs have ramped up their rhetoric against Iran, with military chief of staff Aviv Kohavi bragging Tuesday that the military was boosting its preparations for a possible attack on Iranian nuclear facilities.
The same day, war minister Benny Gantz said Israel would carry out operations that “haven’t been seen in the past” if regional war breaks out.
Speaking at a ceremony in Tehran, Amir Ali Hajizadeh mocked Israel for being the “only regime in the world arguing about how to survive”.
“The regime that discusses its existence is doomed to termination and cannot talk about destroying other countries,” Gen. Hajizadeh was quoted as saying.
In response to the recent remarks by Israeli officials, he said the occupying regime “may be able to start a battle, but it is the Islamic Republic that will end it with the termination of the Zionist regime. If the Zionist regime gives the Islamic Republic an excuse, it will only expedite its termination.”
In January, Kohavi boasted he had instructed the military to begin drawing up fresh attack plans for a strike on Iran’s nuclear facilities, and last month the occupying regime reportedly allocated billions of shekels toward making those plans purportedly viable.
In his comments on Thursday, Hajizadeh said Israeli “threats” against Iran, especially against its nuclear facilities, are statements meant for “internal consumption.”
“The Israelis can launch (an attack on Iran) but we will decide the outcome,” he said.
Gen. Hajizadeh also said Iran’s drones have become “splinters in the eyes” of its enemies.
The U.S. and the occupying regime of Israel, the sworn enemies of Iran, accuse it of using drones and missiles to attack American forces and Israeli-linked ships in the Persian Gulf.
Tehran insists its military strategy is defensive, and has blasted Washington for tying talks on reviving the Iran nuclear deal to future negotiations on its missile program.
“Our enemies say we should negotiate on missiles... and our drones have become splinters in their eyes,” Gen. Hajizadeh said.
“If they insist on limiting the capabilities of our missiles and drones, it shows our strength,” he was quoted as saying on the IRGC’s Sepahnews website.
“We don’t need to mention our strength because the enemy talks enough about Iran’s missiles and defensive capabilities,” he added.
Hajizadeh was speaking on the sidelines of commemorations honoring general Hassan Tehrani Moqaddam, the architect of Iran’s missile program who was martyred in a blast at a IRGC’s base near Tehran in November 2011.
The U.S. last month announced sanctions targeting Iran’s drone program, claiming the IRGC had supplied them to its allies in the Middle East, including Lebanon’s Hezbollah, and the Palestinian Islamic movements in the Gaza Strip.
Iran warned Israel in October against “any military adventure” aimed at its nuclear program, after the Zionist regime said it reserved the right to use force against the Islamic Republic.