Iran’s Armed Forces chief of staff has dismissed US officials’ threats of military action against Iran as “political bluff”, saying the Islamic Republic is ready for the “decisive” battle against the US and Israel.
“We are ready for the decisive war with the US and the Zionist regime [of Israel],” said Major General Hassan Firouzabadi on Wednesday.
Iran has been planning for such a battle for years by carrying out various drills, he said, stressing that Iran’s Armed Forces are prepared to fend off any military aggression.
The top commander warned that in case of aggression against Iran, all the US and Israeli interests will be targeted, “We warn that if our forces come under attack from any territory, we will hit all the positions which belong to that [territory],” Firouzabadi said.
He said Iran harbors no hostility towards any of the countries in the region, but “if we are attacked from US bases in the region, we will target that place.”
The senior commander made the remarks in reaction to US officials’ threats in recent weeks that all options, including the military one, are on the table against Iran.
Meanwhile, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani also said on Tuesday that the rhetoric of threat against the Iranian nation is “worthless and childish.”
“On behalf of the nation of Iran, I declare with a clear voice that threatening the nation of Iran is worthless and childish since our nation has, over the past 35 years, stood up to various threats from the enemy and been victorious,” the president said in an address to a massive gathering of people celebrating the victory of the 1979 Islamic Revolution in Tehran on Tuesday.