Tit-for-tat: Iran threatens to turn Israel into ashes if it ‘commits any silly acts’

Tit-for-tat: Iran threatens to turn Israel into ashes if it ‘commits any silly acts’
March 8, 2021, 11:36 am

Iranian Defense Minister Amir Hatami attends the VII Moscow Conference on International Security MCIS-2018 in Moscow on April 4, 2018. (AFP)

Iran is threatening to “turn Tel Aviv and Haifa into ashes” if Israel “commits any silly acts,” in comments attributed to Iranian Defense Minister Amir Hatami.

“Zionists should know that if they commit any silly acts, Iran will turn Tel Aviv and Haifa into ashes,” Hatami warned on Sunday.

Hatami’s comments come just days after his Israeli counterpart Benny Gantz said Tel Aviv was ready to act independently against Tehran if needed and would not “wait will not wait for the international community to stop Iran’s “nuclear escalation.”

US President Joe Biden has been pushing for direct talks with Iran over the JCPOA, an acronym for the Iran nuclear deal, signed in 2015. Former US President Donald Trump withdrew the US from the agreement and imposed heavy economic sanctions on Iran.

“In a world dominated by bullying powers, a country with no power will be humiliated because the hegemonic powers know nothing but the language of power,” General Hatami was quoted on Sunday as saying by the pro-regime Iranian Students News Agency.

“Iran’s soft power has different aspects and the country uses its power to ensure its security and stability,” he added.

“Zionists’ occasional threats against Iran is out of desperation and as the Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said the Zionist regime is not Iran’s main enemy and that they are not even the size of Iran,” Hatami stressed.

Israel accused Iran last Wednesday of being linked to a recent oil spill off its shores that caused major ecological damage, calling the incident environmental terrorism.