Don’t rush to own annihilation: Iran fires back at Israel over military threat

Iranian military officials have fired back at Israel after its top general threatened that attack plans against the Islamic Republic were being revised, saying the regime will only speed up its annihilation if it makes even the slightest mistake.

In a tweet on Wednesday, Hossein Dehqan, a military advisor to Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, downplayed the threats that the Tel Aviv regime issues against the Islamic Republic from time to time and said the Israelis “do not even dare to fire a bullet at dear Iran.”

He warned the regime, however, that Iran’s “doctrine is defensive but based on severe punishment for the aggressors. Do not rush for annihilation!”

The remarks came one day after Israeli Army Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Aviv Kochavi warned the administration of US President Joe Biden against rejoining the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, adding that he had ordered his forces to step up preparations for possible offensive action against Iran.

“I instructed the army to prepare a number of operational plans in addition to the existing ones,” he said. “We are taking care of these plans and will develop them during the coming year. Those who decide on carrying them out, of course, are the political leaders. But these plans have to be on the table.”

Additionally, the spokesperson for the Iranian Armed Forces described Kochavi’s rhetoric as “nothing more than hallucinations.”

“If the Zionists make a foolish move or any mistake, even the slightest one, against Iran, they will face a reaction that will destroy Tel Aviv and hasten the end of their regime,” Brigadier General Abolfazl Shekarchi told Iran's Arabic-language Al Alam news network.

He also said the Iranian Armed Forces have been strengthening their defensive capabilities day by day, and that the country is capable of carrying out strategic operations to level the enemy to the ground.

Senior Iranian officials dismiss Israeli threat of military action as nothing but 'psychological warfare'

Iranian officials dismiss recent Israeli threats, pledge a firm response to any act of aggression.

“Iran has a message for the countries of the world that the holy establishment of the Islamic Republic is not seeking to build nuclear weapons and will never move in this path — based on Ayatollah Khamenei’s fatwa — as it considers such a measure forbidden regarding its defense policies and has nothing to hide,” Shekarchi said.

The Zionists have already tested themselves against the resistance forces, said the Iranian general, describing the regime’s military as “coward and weak.”

He further referred to the widening political rift in the Israeli regime and growing calls for the scandal-hit Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to step down, saying sarcastically that Tel Aviv first needs to contain the protest rallies against Netanyahu before issuing threats against others.

Iran has repeatedly enunciated its nuclear program as exclusively civilian, subject to the most intensive UN supervisions ever.

Tehran signed the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) in 2015 with six world countries, which led to the forging of close cooperation between Tehran and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), despite intensive Israeli lobbying to torpedo the nuclear agreement.

However, the administration of former US President Donald Trump severely undermined the accord by abandoning it in May 2018 despite numerous IAEA reports on Tehran’s full compliance with the agreement.

Israel supported Washington’s unilateral withdrawal from the JCPOA and the “maximum pressure” campaign against Iran that ensued.

The occupying regime is believed to be the sole possessor of nukes in the Middle East and estimated to have between 200 and 400 nuclear warheads in its arsenal. Tel Aviv has turned a deaf ear to international calls for the regime to join the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT).

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