Iran will conduct new strikes against Israeli targets in the region if Tel Aviv attacks any more Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) troops, commander-in-chief Hossein Salami has said.
“Be careful, for we will not only take part in the funeral of our martyrs, but also take immediate revenge for them. This is a serious and real message,” Salami said, speaking at an event in Dezful, south-western Iran on Wednesday.
“We promise and assure you that we will never allow foreigners to threaten the security, dignity and interests of our beloved land,” he added.
The commander went on to warn the “Zionists” that if they did not “not stop their evil acts”, the “small openings that have been created for them in the world” would be “closed forever”.
Salami also boasted about Washington’s recognition of Iran’s ability to resist pressure from the West, saying the world had entered a new century which will see “the sunset of the evil powers and the century of the sunset of the West,” with the Iranian Revolution accelerating this process.
Iranian media reported that three Israeli operatives were killed and seven injured in the IRGC’s 13 March missile strike in Erbil. US officials dismissed the suggestion that Erbil contained a Mossad base, saying two civilians were injured and that homes in the area were damaged, and that “press speculation otherwise is simply wrong”.
The IRGC approved the Erbil strike after warning that Israel would be made to “pay the price” for the killing of two Iranian Revolutionary Guard officers in Syria in early March. Syria responded by accusing Israel of “coordinating” with Daesh (ISIS)*, as the Israeli strike was said to have come just “hours” after the terrorist group killed more than a dozen troops in central Syria.
Israel has admitted it has carried out “hundreds” of air and missile strikes in Syria, claiming it is targeting “Iranian” and “Iran-backed” forces in the country. Damascus has slammed Tel Aviv for its repeated violations of its sovereignty.
* A terrorist group outlawed in Russia and many other countries.