The chief commander of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) has warned that Iran “will not leave any threat unanswered” as the United States seeks to escalate tensions in West Asia already inflamed by Israel’s genocidal war on the Gaza Strip.
Major General Hossein Salami made the remarks on Wednesday, after US President Joe Biden said he had decided how to respond to a deadly attack on a US occupation base, for which he held Tehran responsible.
“Sometimes, the enemies make threats. And these days too, we hear some threats in the US officials’ rhetoric,” he said at the final session of the national congress of 24,000 martyrs of Tehran Province.
“We tell them (the Americans) that you have tested us and we know each other. We will not leave any threat unanswered.”
The IRGC chief stressed that, “We are not seeking war, yet are not afraid of it either.”
The warning echoed that of Iran’s permanent mission to the UN, which said Tehran would "respond decisively" to any attack on its territory, interests, and nationals.
Tensions have ratcheted up in West Asia due to the United States’ support for Israel in the brutal Gaza war, which has killed at least 26,900 Palestinians, mostly women and children, and injured 65,949 others over the past more than three months.
On Sunday, the Islamic Resistance in Iraq, an umbrella group of anti-terror fighters, carried out a drone strike on a military outpost in Jordan, known as Tower 22, killing three US soldiers and injuring dozens.
US President Joe Biden pinned the blame on what he called “radical Iran-backed militant groups” and vowed Washington would respond.
Iran said it has no links to the attacks on American occupation troops in the region as they are related to the conflict between resistance groups and the US military.
Salami also said, “Palestine is on a path to victory. The Zionists cannot keep a small territory in a war for months and they will definitely lose.”