Commander: Israelis’ Rhetoric against Iran out of Fear

Deputy Commander of Iran’s Army Brigadier General Mohammad Hossein Dadras played down the recent threatening words uttered by the Israeli officials against Iran, saying that fear of Tehran’s power is the reason behind such rhetoric.

“The Zionists’ prates are out of fear because they are aware of our capabilities and know that any threat and act by them will be followed by such a reaction that they will not be able to stand on their feet after it,” General Dadras said on Wednesday.

He also underlined Iran’s military power in different fields, and said all these capabilities, including production of fighter jets, vessels, radars and missiles, with high standards have been achieved while the country was under the harshest-ever sanctions.

Iranian Government Spokesman Ali Rabiyee had also on Tuesday played down Israeli officials’ recent threats against Iran as “ridiculous”.

“The Zionist regime benefits from psychological insecurity in the region and it might take some moves in the region in this regard,” Rabiyee told reporters in a press conference.

“Of course, we do not take serious the Zionist regime’s ridiculous threats,” he added.

Rabiyee said that the leaders of the Israeli regime are well aware of the catastrophic consequences of such a mistake, and added, “Our response is the response given earlier by our Minister of Defense. This (Israeli) rhetoric is aimed at threatening and extortion (of financial aid) from the US and dissuading the US from returning to the nuclear deal.”

His remarks came after Israeli officials warned to attack the Iranian nuclear sites in case of the country’s further development of its peaceful program.

Also, reports said earlier this week that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has reached out certain Persian Gulf Arab states’ leaders, calling on them for formation of a coalition against Iran.

In response, Iranian Defense Minister Brigadier General Amir Hatami said Israel is too weak to speak of attacking Iran, but meantime, warned that any wrong move by Tel Aviv would meet Tehran’s response which would raze down Tel Aviv and Haifa.

“Although sometimes their dogs speak bigger than their mouths out of desperation and raise threats that are clearly out of desperation, the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution has responded well to the Zionists many years ago by saying that the Zionist regime is not an arch foe of our size and is too small to show hostility to the Islamic Republic. The Zionist regime knows, and if it does not know, it should know, that if it makes a mistake, the Islamic Republic will raze down Tel Aviv and Haifa,” General Hatami said on Sunday.

“This order of the Commander-in-Chief of Armed Forces (the Leader) has been precisely implemented by the Armed Forces, and it has turned into a plan and will be implemented with a single command of the Commander-in-Chief. I advise them (the Israelis) not to make this mistake, even in words,” he added.

General Hatami also referred to Iran and the resistance groups’ power in the region, saying that the Islamic Revolution has blocked Israel’s schemes and made the regime build a wall around itself.

Meantime, Iran’s Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the Vienna-based International Organizations Kazzem Qaribabadi criticized the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) for inaction towards the nuclear threat posed by Israel, stressing that Tel Aviv enjoys the advantages of Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) while it is has never signed the pact.

Israel enjoys more preferential advantages compared to the nuclear-armed states because the latter are NPT members and have special commitments, while Israel is out of it, is free of any commitments, and enjoys all the advantages of the Agency which are relevant to the NPT, Qaribabadi said on Friday.  

He said that all regional countries are members of the NPT and have committed themselves to accept the IAEA’s safeguards, adding, “Developing a secret nuclear weapon program by the Zionist regime is a serious persisting threat not only to the security and stability of the region and the world, but also for the effectiveness of NPT and the Agency’s safeguards.”

“Needless to mention, the Zionist regime is not a member of any of the other disarmament and WMD non-proliferation treaties,” the envoy noted, adding, “the nuclear capabilities of the Zionist regime and its threats have been put on the agenda of the UN General Assembly while the IAEA has issued several resolutions in this regard.”

“But the Zionist regime has neglected the international community by ignoring the NPT, avoiding to join it, and refusing to put its facilities and nuclear activities under IAEA’s safeguards inspections,” Qaribabadi stated.

He warned that such conditions have emboldened Israel to ridicule the IAEA authority and the mission for preventing deviation of materials and nuclear activities.  

“Most importantly, it has been so emboldened that it distorts realities and criticizes some of the NPT members, while they are committed but it is not,” the diplomat added.

He termed it ironic that the IAEA, its secretariat, Board of Governors, and general conferences all focus on NPT members, while ignoring the materials and the activities of the Zionist regime in the volatile West Asian region is a chronic strategic mistake.

“In such a condition, what is the advantage of being a NPT member and implementing the safeguards? How can the global community see the IAEA as a serious, professional, impartial partner while the comprehensive safeguards regime is not applied to its members identically and justly and it doesn’t even seriously discuss the necessity of verification and inspections of Israel’s nuclear activities? Does the silence about the Israeli nuclear deal not send a message to the NPT members that membership means accepting the strongest verification and monitoring systems and staying out of it means freedom of any commitments and even receiving bonuses?” he asked the IAEA.