IRGC Commander: Iran to Hit Enemy from Inside in Case of War

Commander of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) Major General Mohammad Ali Jafari warned of dire consequences of any military attack against Iran, saying in case of an aggressive move by the enemy, Iran will continue the battle for a long time hitting the enemy state from inside.
“The enemy is afraid of massive and long-term ground attack on Iran,” Jafari said, addressing a large number of Iranian cadets in Tehran on Tuesday.

“Their desired military option includes missile and air attack on sensitive and nuclear sites, but they themselves know that we will not leave them alone after such an act and will threaten them from inside,” he stressed.

Elsewhere, Jafari downplayed the effectiveness of the West-backed sanctions against Iran, and said, “Repelling sanctions is possible only through focusing on internal capabilities and resources.”

In relevant remarks last Sunday, Iranian Defense Minister Brigadier General Hossein Dehqan underlined that the Iranian Armed Forces will give an inconceivable response to any possible enemy aggression, adding that the recent threatening remarks of the US officials cannot prevent the country from continuing its nuclear fuel production.

“The Iranian Armed Forces are an intertwined and coherent complex which can give a decisive response to any threat at any level and any place under the command of the Commander-in-Chief (Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei),” Dehqan said in Tehran, addressing the defense ministry personnel on the occasion of the 35th anniversary of the victory of the Islamic Revolution.

Blasting the recent military threats of a number of the US officials against Iran, he said, “The enemy can never assess and think of the range of the response given by the powerful and mighty Armed Forces of the Islamic Iran.”

Dehqan said that the enemies threaten Iran militarily to prevent the country’s progress in using nuclear technology, but they should know that “Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution (Ayatollah Khamenei) and the brave and resistance nation of the Islamic Iran will never allow the country’s nuclear fuel production cycle come to a halt”.

In relevant remarks, Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei in crucial remarks earlier this month dismissed compromise with the US, saying Washington is pursuing a hypocritical approach towards Iran and has aimed at the nation’s independence.

He blasted the US officials for their military threats against Iran despite international efforts and talks to settle the dispute between Tehran and the West over the country’s nuclear program, and said, “The Iranian nation should pay attention to the recent negotiations and the rude remarks of the Americans so that everyone gets to know the enemy well.”

“The Americans speak in their private meetings with our officials in one way, and they speak differently outside these meetings; this is hypocrisy and the bad and evil will of the enemy and the nation should observe all these cases precisely,” Ayatollah Khamenei stressed.

Representatives of Iran and the Group 5+1 (the US, Russia, China, Britain and France plus Germany) started comprehensive talks in Vienna on Tuesday over a lasting solution to the nuclear standoff between the two sides after hectic diplomatic efforts in Geneva in November resulted in an interim agreement.

On November 24, Iran and the world powers, including the US, sealed a six-month Joint Plan of Action to lay the groundwork for the full resolution of the West’s decade-old dispute with Iran over its nuclear energy program. In exchange for Tehran’s confidence-building bid to limit certain aspects of its nuclear activities, the Sextet of world powers agreed to lift some of the existing sanctions against Tehran and continue talks with the country to settle all problems between the two sides.

After Iran and the world powers struck a deal in November, the US Treasury Department imposed fresh sanctions against companies and individuals for their business links with Iran.

The US Treasury Department said earlier this month that the targeted entities operated in Turkey, Spain, Germany, Georgia, Afghanistan, Iran, Liechtenstein and the United Arab Emirates.

Also, Washington officials have been making increasing provocative remarks against Iran and the deal since November. US Secretary of State John Kerry said in an interview in Geneva in January that the military option was still on the table if Iran did not live up to its nuclear commitments under the Geneva deal.

In response, a large number of Iranian officials have warned of the dire repercussions of such remarks by Washington officials. Lieutenant Commander of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) Brigadier General Hossein Salami warned that the slightest military move by the US will be reciprocated by Iran’s harshest response, underlining that Iran’s reaction would “recognize no boundary”.