Three top Iranian military commanders have dismissed remarks by U.S. officials who have claimed Washington retains the ability to destroy Iran’s nuclear program. The commander of Iran’s elite Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), Ali Jafari, said Western powers would attack Iran if they thought it would be successful. “The military option… is no more than a mockery,” he said on May 7. The IRGC’s deputy commander, Hossein Salami, even welcomed war with the United States, claiming it would be a chance to display Iran’s true military power. The remarks appeared to be in reaction to recent statements by U.S. Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter and Secretary of State John Kerry, who noted that Washington has a credible military option. The following are excerpted remarks.
IRGC Commander Major General Mohammad Ali Jafari
“The military option which the Westerners are constantly talking about is no more than a mockery, and they do know that if the military option against the Islamic Republic of Iran could yield results, they would use it time and again, and today they have shifted their focus to other types of threat and to the soft war front.
“Today, the Islamic Iran's pride and might has made the world's biggest materialistic and military powers kneel down before the Islamic Republic's might.
“They [enemies of Islam] could not drop their grudge against Islam and the Islamic Revolution and thus, they created ISIL.”
IRGC Lieutenant Commander Brigadier General Hossein Salami
“We have prepared ourselves for the most dangerous scenarios and this is no big deal and is simple to digest for us; we welcome war with the U.S. as we do believe that it will be the scene for our success to display the real potentials of our power.
“We warn their pilots that their first flight (to target Iran) will be their last one and no one will be allowed to go back safe and sound and they should call their flights as their last flight.
“When the arrogant powers grow united in different directions to weaken the Islamic community, we should use our different capacities to fight against the enemy, and the Islamic Iran has gained many experiences in fighting against the enemy so far.
“War against Iran will mobilize the Muslim world against the U.S., an issue which is very well known by the enemy.
—May 6, 2015 in an interview with state television (translation via Fars News Agency)
IRGC Lieutenant Commander Ground Force General Abdollah Araqi
“Today, the world arrogance is present in the region, has deployed its warships in the Persian Gulf and has military bases in the regional states, but we are not afraid of this [U.S.] presence and its so-called options on the table.”
—May 7, 2015 in a speech in Qazvin (translation via Fars News Agency)
Photo credits: Ali Jafari via President.ir
