Iran Guards chief warns Israel of 'painful' retaliation if it attacks Iranian targets

AFP , Thursday 17 Oct 2024

Iran's Revolutionary Guards chief Hossein Salami warned Thursday of further retaliation against Israel if it attacks Iranian targets, which Israel has vowed to do after Iran's missile attack on October 1.

Hossein Salami
File photo: Hossein Salami, head of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), speaking at the funeral of a senior commander in Iran's Quds Force in Tehran. AFP

 

Iran launched the missile barrage in retaliation for the assassinations of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran on July 31 and Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah, along with senior IRGC commander Abbas Nilforushan, both killed in an airstrike on Beirut's southern suburbs on September 27.

"If you make a mistake and attack our targets, whether in the region or in Iran, we will strike you again painfully," Salami said at the senior IRGC commander's funeral.

Funeral services for Nilforoushan, whose body the Guards said was recovered last week, began on Monday in Iraq. His body was then moved to Iran for burial in his hometown of Isfahan later Thursday.

During his speech Salami criticised as "not reliable" the THAAD missile defence battery which the Pentagon on Tuesday said arrived in Israel, along with about 100 American troops to operate it.

"Do not trust these systems. You cannot massacre Muslim nations and remain safe," he said.

"We know your weaknesses. You know them well," he added addressing Israel.

The Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system is "designed to intercept targets outside and inside the atmosphere," according to its manufacturer Lockheed Martin.

Salami's remarks came as Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi intensified diplomatic efforts on ways to contain the Israeli assaults on Gaza and Lebanon from spreading across the region.

Araghchi has over the past nearly two weeks visited Lebanon, Syria, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Iraq, Oman and Jordan.

He is currently in Egypt and is scheduled to head to Turkey afterwards.

*This story was edited by Ahram Online.

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