Iran ready for 'decisive battle' against US, Israel

Chief of Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces General Hassan Firouzabadi said Iran is ready for the “decisive battle” against Washington and Tel Aviv and would strike all the US bases if it comes under attack. “We are ready for the decisive battle against the US and the Zionist regime,” Firouzabadi told FNA on Wednesday. Stressing that Iran has prepared itself for such a final battle against the US and Israel since many years ago and through staging different wargames, he said, “If any war is launched against Iran, we won’t give any ground to the enemy and they themselves know this very well.” Firouzabadi said that the enemies have been studying military invasion of Iran throughout the last ten years, "they even moved their troops to the region, but eventually came to the conclusion that they lack the ability (to wage war on Iran) and left the region". “And these words that they utter (about war with Iran) now are just political bluffing,” he added. "Yet, we warn that if an attack is launched on our troops from any territory, we will invade all the possissions of the enemy," he reiterated. “We do not feel any hostility for any of the regional state, but if we are targeted from the US bases in the region, we will hit those bases." Also on Sunday, Iranian Defense Minister Brigadier General Hossein Dehqan underlined that the Iranian Armed Forces will give an inconceivable response to any possible enemy aggression, adding that the threatening remarks of the US officials cannot prevent the country from continuing its nuclear fuel production. “The Iranian Armed Forces are an intertwined and coherent complex which can give a decisive response to any threat at any level and any place under the command of the Commander-in-Chief (Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei),” Dehqan said in Tehran, addressing the defense ministry personnel on the occasion of the 35th anniversary of the victory of the Islamic Revolution. Blasting the recent military threats of a number of the US officials against Iran, he said, “The enemy can never assess and think of the range of the response given by the powerful and mighty Armed Forces of the Islamic Iran.” Dehqan said that the enemies threaten Iran militarily to prevent the country’s progress in using nuclear technology, but they should know that “Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution (Ayatollah Khamenei) and the brave and resistance nation of the Islamic Iran will never allow the country's nuclear fuel production cycle come to a halt”. Also, Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei in crucial remarks on Saturday blasted the US officials for their military threats against Iran despite international efforts and talks to settle the dispute between Tehran and the West over the country’s nuclear program, and said, “The Iranian nation should pay attention to the recent negotiations and the rude remarks of the Americans so that everyone gets to know the enemy well.” “The Americans speak in their private meetings with our officials in one way, and they speak differently outside these meetings; this is hypocrisy and the bad and evil will of the enemy and the nation should observe all these cases precisely,” Ayatollah Khamenei stressed. On November 24, Iran and the world powers, including the US, sealed a six-month Joint Plan of Action to lay the groundwork for the full resolution of the West’s decade-old dispute with Iran over its nuclear energy program. In exchange for Tehran’s confidence-building bid to limit certain aspects of its nuclear activities, the Sextet of world powers agreed to lift some of the existing sanctions against Tehran and continue talks with the country to settle all problems between the two sides. After Iran and the world powers struck a deal in November, the US Treasury Department imposed fresh sanctions against companies and individuals for their business links with Iran. The US Treasury Department said on Thursday that the targeted entities operated in Turkey, Spain, Germany, Georgia, Afghanistan, Iran, Liechtenstein and the United Arab Emirates. Also, Washington officials have been making increasing provocative remarks against Iran and the deal since November. US Secretary of State John Kerry said in an interview in Geneva in January that the military option was still on the table if Iran did not live up to its nuclear commitments under the Geneva deal. In response, a large number of Iranian officials have warned of the dire repercussions of such remarks by Washington officials. Lieutenant Commander of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) Brigadier General Hossein Salami warned that the slightest military move by the US will be reciprocated by Iran's harshest response, underlining that Iran's reaction would "recognize no boundary".