DUBAI: US Defense Secretary James Mattis has called Iran the world’s “biggest state sponsor of terrorism,” amid rising tensions between the two nations.
His comments come a day after the US imposed new sanctions against Iran in response to a ballistic missile test.
But Mattis said he did not see any need to boost US troop numbers in the Middle East to deal with Iran, reported BBC.
A Revolutionary Guards commander said Iran would use its missiles if its security is under threat, as the elite force defied new US sanctions on its missile program by holding a military exercise on Saturday.
Tensions between Tehran and Washington have risen since a recent Iranian ballistic missile test which prompted US President Donald Trump’s administration to impose sanctions on individuals and entities linked to the Revolutionary Guards.
Trump’s national security adviser Michael Flynn said the Washington was putting Iran on notice over its “destabilizing activity,” and Trump tweeted Tehran was “playing with fire”
“We are working day and night to protect Iran’s security,” head of Revolutionary Guards’ aerospace unit, Brig. Gen. Amir Ali Hajizadeh was quoted as saying by Tasnim news agency.
“If we see smallest misstep from the enemies, our roaring missiles will fall on their heads,” he added.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards is holding the military exercise in Semnan province on Saturday to test missile and radar systems and to “showcase the power of Iran’s revolution and to dismiss the sanctions,” according to the force’s website.
Dismissing Trump’s comments that “nothing is off the table” in dealing with Tehran, the commander of Iran’s ground forces said on Saturday that the Islamic Republic has been hearing such threats since its 1979 revolution. “The defense capability and the offensive prowess of Iran’s armed forces would make America or any other enemy regretful of any incursion,” Ahmad Reza Pourdastan was quoted as saying by ISNA.
Iranian state news agencies reported that homemade missile systems, radars, command and control centers, and cyber warfare systems would be tested in Saturday’s drill.
Iran has one of the Middle East’s largest missile programs and held a similar exercise in December to showcase its defense systems, including radars, anti-missile defense units, and short and medium-range missiles.
Tehran confirmed on Wednesday that it had test-fired a new ballistic missile, but said the test did not breach its nuclear agreement with world powers or a UN Security Council resolution endorsing the pact.
Iran has test-fired several ballistic missiles since the nuclear deal in 2015, but the latest test was the first since Trump entered the White House. Trump said during his election campaign that he would stop Iran’s missile program.
The UN Security Council held an emergency meeting on Tuesday and recommended the missile testing be studied at the committee level. The new US ambassador to the UN, Nikki Haley, called the test “unacceptable.”
The Security Council resolution was adopted to buttress the deal under which Iran curbed its nuclear activities to allay concerns they could be used to develop atomic bombs, in exchange for relief from economic sanctions.
The resolution urged Tehran to refrain from work on ballistic missiles designed to deliver nuclear weapons. Critics say the resolution’s language does not make this obligatory.
Tehran says it has not carried out any work on missiles specifically designed to carry nuclear payloads.
Iran world’s biggest state sponsor of terrorism: US
Iran world’s biggest state sponsor of terrorism: US
Aoun slams ‘systematic policy of aggression’ as Israeli strikes kill 2, wound journalists in south Lebanon escalation
- Lebanese Army: Attacks terrorize civilians and hinder weapons control plan
- Israeli army spokesperson said military eliminated Abu Ali Salameh, who served as a Hezbollah liaison officer in the area
- Israeli drones targeted sites with heavy airstrikes, wounding journalists in Qanarit and destroying their equipment, cameras and vehicles
BEIRUT: Two people were killed and several journalists wounded in a series of Israeli attacks on Wednesday targeting southern areas, most of which lie north of the Litani River.
The Lebanese Army Command described the escalation as “impeding the army’s efforts and hindering the completion of its plan to confine weapons to Lebanese territory.” It said that the strikes terrorized civilians, caused deaths and injuries, displaced dozens of families and undermined regional stability.
The day’s security situation was dominated by hours of Israeli escalation, including airstrikes and evacuation warnings targeting villages and populated areas ahead of further bombardment.
The Israeli army said that warplanes carried out precision strikes on civilian vehicles in Bazouriyeh, killing a Hezbollah member. A separate drone strike hit a civilian vehicle on the Zahrani-Mseileh road, killing one person, with Israel claiming the target was another Hezbollah operative.
Israeli army spokesman Avichai Adraee said that the military “eliminated Abu Ali Salameh, who served as a Hezbollah liaison officer” in the village of Yanouh, in southern Lebanon. He accused Salameh of managing Hezbollah activities to “enable the group to operate within civilian areas and on private property, and to establish terrorist infrastructure in the heart of populated civilian areas, through the deliberate and cynical exploitation of the residents to serve Hezbollah’s objectives.”
Adraee claimed that on Dec. 13, Israel alerted Lebanon’s enforcement mechanism about a Hezbollah weapons depot in Yanouh. Salameh allegedly relayed the notification to other Hezbollah members, who then blocked Lebanese army access by staging a gathering while removing weapons from the site.
He said that Salameh also coordinated with the Lebanese army to falsely document the property as weapons-free, even as “suspicious boxes” were removed via a back entrance. Adraee called these actions a violation of Israel-Lebanon understandings, adding that “the Israeli army will continue to take measures to eliminate all threats.”
Israeli artillery also shelled the Harmoun area in the Bint Jbeil district, south of the Litani River, prompting Israeli army warnings — complete with maps — for residents of Qanarit, Kfour in Nabatieh and Jarjouh to evacuate immediately.
Israeli drones then hammered the sites with heavy airstrikes, wounding journalists in Qanarit and destroying their equipment, cameras and vehicles.
The Press Photographers Syndicate said: “Israeli claims of maintaining safe distances offer no protection, just as the warnings issued by the enemy to civilians offer no protection. It seems that cameras are not a red line.”
The statement urged photojournalists “to exercise caution and avoid turning their professional commitment into a reckless gamble.”
Civilians in the targeted areas reported receiving phone calls from Israel ordering them to clear squares, residential neighborhoods and a mosque.
The Lebanese Army Command confirmed that “Israeli attacks and violations targeted civilian buildings and homes in several areas, most recently in villages in the south, in a blatant violation of Lebanon’s sovereignty and security, the cessation of hostilities agreement, and UN Security Council Resolution 1701.”
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun issued a statement on Wednesday evening condemning the strikes and accused Tel Aviv of “pursuing a systematic policy of aggression” that targeted civilians and violated international humanitarian law, and constituted “a dangerous escalation.”
“This repeated aggressive behavior proves Israel’s refusal to abide by its commitments under the cessation of hostilities agreement and reflects a deliberate disregard for the efforts exerted by the Lebanese state to control the situation on the ground, maintain stability, and prevent the escalation of the confrontation,” he said.
He called on the international community — particularly the agreement’s sponsors — “to assume their legal and political responsibilities and take clear and effective measures to stop these violations and put an end to the policy of impunity.”
The escalation also came as Aoun reaffirmed his commitment to “monopolizing weapons in the hands of the state throughout all Lebanese territory.”
At a meeting of the Higher Supervisory Committee for Lebanon’s border protection program — attended by the US and Canadian ambassadors — Army Commander Gen. Rudolph Haykal stressed the army’s “absolute commitment” to securing borders but called for “qualitative military support” to tackle challenges on the northern and eastern fronts.
The army said that the ambassadors praised “its professionalism and success,” stressing the need to bolster the military institution to enhance its ability to maintain security nationwide. Lebanese military units are currently securing the northern and eastern borders with Syria to combat smuggling, weapons transfers and illegal infiltration.
