Dismissing intensified Israeli threats, Iran Navy chief says Israel lacks courage to confront Tehran

Dismissing the Israeli regime’s military threats against Iran, the commander of the Iranian Navy says Israel lacks the courage to confront the Islamic Republic militarily.

Iranian naval forces, with their domestically-manufactured equipment, can come forcefully to any water point and slap any enemy that harms its security, Rear Admiral Shahram Irani told Yemen’s al-Masirah news network in an interview published on Saturday.

“Threats, conspiracies, and sanctions have failed to bring the Iranian nation to its knees and the enemy has become powerless against the [Iranian] armed forces,” Irani added.

Israel has recently intensified its attempts to derail the upcoming Vienna talks on the removal of US sanctions against Iran by continually bringing up Iran’s missile and drone capabilities, claiming that Iran acts maliciously in the region, and last but not least, resorting to the old allegation that Iran is trying to build nuclear weapons.

“Iran must not go nuclear,” Israel’s minister of military affairs Benny Gantz said earlier this week, in remarks that mindfully ignored Iran’s assertions that it is not after building the bomb.

He described the use of force against Iran as “diplomacy by other means,” saying it needs to be on the table against Tehran.

Israel must realize its true capacities before threatening to attack nuclear sites: Iran's nuclear chief

Iran

Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said on Tuesday that since Israel is not part of the 2015 Iran nuclear agreement, it will not be “bound by it” even if the US returns to the deal three years after it unilaterally withdrew.

Bennett stated that “we will maintain our freedom of action” and will learn from the mistake of falling “asleep on duty” after the nuclear deal was inked between Iran and six world powers.

A number of other former and current Israeli officials have also either called on world powers to retain a threat of taking military action against Iran or urged the Bennett regime to seriously consider targeting Iran’s nuclear sites.

“Independent strikes on nuclear sites, if Iran takes this path that endangers our existence, should and must be on the table — unequivocally,” former Mossad Chief Yossi Cohen told the Ynet news site.

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‘Iran Navy able to quickly respond to any moves’

Elsewhere in his interview, Irani also said that Iranian naval forces have recently managed to sail 45,000 km while crossing three oceans and bypassing more than 50 countries without docking at their ports.

“This depicts the power of the Iranian Navy,” he asserted.

Irani maintained that the Iranian Navy provides security for tankers and merchant ships in the Atlantic Ocean and the Red Sea and is able to quickly respond to any action by the enemy.

In remarks a day earlier, Irani had said his forces have managed to keep their equipment up-to-date despite the enemy’s conspiracies, threats, and sanctions.

“Iran is the only country whose navy has established security for its shipping lines independently and without the use of a fleet,” the Navy chief said.

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Israel has once again resorted to plots aimed at disrupting diplomatic efforts to end the US-Israeli created crisis targeting Tehran’s peaceful nuclear program.

General warns enemies against misadventure

Separately on Saturday, the chief of staff of Iran’s armed forces warned the enemies and ill-wishers of the Islamic Republic against any misadventure in the region, especially in the Persian Gulf and the Sea of Oman, with the aim of justifying their illegitimate and destabilizing presence in the region.

“Otherwise, they will have to wait for the fire of rage and the determination that will force them to flee the region in disgrace,” Major General Mohammad Baqeri said in a message marking the occasion of the national Navy Day.

General Baqeri said the sustainable security in Iran’s territorial waters and the deterrent power of the Iranian naval forces are the results of the Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei’s guidelines and the Iranian people’s support.

Iran’s top commanders have repeatedly warned the US and its allies, in particular Israel, against any misadventure in the region.

The Islamic Republic has also reassured its neighbors that its military might does not pose any threat to them, and instead, is for defensive purposes.

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