TEHRAN: Iran’s commander of the Revolutionary Guard Hossein Salami said on Friday “no threat will go unanswered” in retaliation for the airstrike widely attributed to Israel that destroyed the Iranian Consulate in Syria’s capital and killed seven of the guard’s members, including two top generals.
This came after thousands marched chanting “death to Israel” during the slain officers’ funeral procession in the capital.
The marches in the capital, Tehran, along with protests in other Iranian cities, took place at a time of heightened concerns about possible retribution by Iran for Monday’s strike that killed 12 people, including four Syrian citizens and a member of the Lebanese militant Hezbollah group, according to officials.
The protesters in the capital headed to Tehran University where Salami gave his speech before the weekly Friday prayers.
“We warn you, no enemy act against our holy system will go unanswered,” he said, speaking on a podium and showing a big placard with the Arabic phrase “Flood of the Free” emblazoned on it.
“The collapse of (Israel’s regime) is very possible and close,” Salami said, adding that the US has become “wildly hated by the world, especially in Muslim-dominated countries” for supporting Israel.
He said that Israel’s current survival depended on US support.
Salami also said that “resistance groups in Gaza are surrounded by Israel ... and weapons cannot be sent to them,” referring to the Israel-Hamas war that broke out on Oct.7.
He claimed that “messages sent from inside Gaza show that they have no problem to continue enduring (the war).”
The public funeral coincided with Iran’s annual rally Quds Day, or Jerusalem Day, a traditional show of support for the Palestinians that has been held on the last Friday of Ramadan since the 1979 revolution.
Iranian leaders have reiterated promises of revenge.
IRGC chief vows payback for Israeli strike on consulate in Damascus
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IRGC chief vows payback for Israeli strike on consulate in Damascus
- “The collapse of (Israel’s regime) is very possible and close,” Salami said, adding that the US has become “wildly hated by the world, especially in Muslim-dominated countries” for supporting Israel
UN warns of environmental hazards from Middle East war
- Several oil facilities in Iran were targeted by Israeli strikes Sunday, and Iran has also launched strikes on oil facilities in the region
UN chief Antonio Guterres’s office warned Monday of “serious environmental consequences” from recent strikes on oil facilities and desalination plants in the Middle East, saying they pose significant threats to air quality and drinking water.
“We continue to raise the alarm over the humanitarian impact of escalating violence across parts of the Middle East, which is driving rising civilian casualties, damage to civilian infrastructure and growing displacement of people,” the secretary-general’s spokesman Stephane Dujarric told a press conference.
He added that the United Nations was “particularly concerned by the number of reports of recent strikes on oil facilities, which could have serious environmental consequences across the region, with immediate possible impacts on safe water, on air that people need to breathe, and on food.”
Bahrain’s interior ministry had said Sunday that an Iranian drone attack also damaged a water desalination plant, which is essential infrastructure for the country’s economy and drinking water supplies.
“We reiterate again that all possible precautions must be taken to protect civilians from the impact of hostilities and to avoid damage to health facilities, schools, water systems and other essential infrastructure,” Dujarric said.
Several oil facilities in Iran were targeted by Israeli strikes Sunday, and Iran has also launched strikes on oil facilities in the region.
