Press TV - Chief of Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces Major General Mohammad Baqeri says any threat or possible act of aggression by enemies will be met with a firm and crushing response.
Baqeri made the remarks in a message issued on Saturday on the occasion of the 29th anniversary of the passing away of the founder of the Islamic Republic, Imam Khomeini, and pro-Palestinian International Quds Day, falling on the last Friday of the fasting month of Ramadan.
He said the strong Iranian Armed Forces would not hesitate even a moment to give a firm and crushing response to any threat, act of aggression or a greedy move by enemies and ill-wishers of the country.
He emphasized that the Islamic Revolution was a new element in the global equation of power.
The top military commander added that Iran's very powerful influence in the region, acknowledged by friends and foes, was rooted in important and key factors such as the "strategic and far-sighted management" of the Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei and "prudence and wisdom" of the Iranian nation.
Baqeri said that Iran had managed to overcome major regional challenges such as war and insecurity, spread of Takfiri terrorism and threats posed by the US, Britain and the Israeli regime as well as reactionary Arab countries of the region.
In the domestic arena, he added, the Islamic Republic had also succeeded in thwarting the "enemy's complicated and deceitful plots."
He emphasized that the Iranian forces in the Army, the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC), police and Defense Ministry would make use of their utmost capabilities to "safeguard the independence, territorial integrity and national sovereignty" of the Islamic Republic.
The military chief further said this year's International Quds Day was very important due to its coincidence with the US relocation of its embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem al-Quds and the Israeli regime's massacre of the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip.
A massive and powerful presence of the Iranian people in rallies marking International Quds Day to support the Palestinian cause and Intifada would defeat "the new American-Zionist plot" and speed up the victory of the "oppressed and resilient" Palestinian people against the Israeli regime, Baqeri pointed out.
In a speech at the White House in December 2017, US President Donald Trump sparked global uproar by announcing a dramatic shift in Washingtons policy on Jerusalem al-Quds. He declared that the US was recognizing Jerusalem al-Quds as the capital of Israel and planning to relocate the American embassy from Tel Aviv to the city. The US declared on May 14 the opening of its embassy in Jerusalem al-Quds.
Hours before the inauguration, Israeli troops opened fire on Palestinians who had gathered near a Gaza fence for the climax of a six-week demonstration. According to Gaza health officials, dozens of Palestinians, including children and teenagers, were shot dead and hundreds wounded by Israeli snipers who were positioned along the fence, facing the protesters.
The recent demonstrations and Israels violent response along the Gaza fence have left at least 120 Palestinians dead and about 13,300 others injured since March 30.
A senior Iranian official lashed out at the US for taking an "illegal" action in moving its embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem al-Quds, saying the US president had become the epitome of anarchism and violence on the international scene.
"Trump has turned into the symbol of anarchism and increasing violence on the international scene with his strategic mistakes in supporting terrorism, breaching the JCPOA (the landmark 2015 nuclear agreement, officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, signed between Iran and six world powers) and other international pacts as well as violating the Palestinian people's rights," Secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) Ali Shamkhani said.
Taking to his official Twitter page on May 14, Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif also lashed out at the Israeli regime for pursuing a repressive approach to peaceful protests by Palestinians demanding their right to return to their motherland.
Zarif took Israel to task for massacring countless Palestinians in cold blood as they protest in world's largest open air prison, in what was a direct allusion to the situation of the Palestinians who live under years-long Israeli blockade in the besieged Gaza Strip.
