Senior Iranian military officials issued warnings today, threatening a harsh response to any future attacks on Iranian interests, while criticizing statements by US President Donald Trump.
Brigadier General Ramezan Sharif, a spokesman for the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), dismissed Trump’s recent statements as “nonsense,” saying they were “the result of a heavy defeat by Iran.”
“If Iran’s national interests and assets are attacked again, our response this time will be different, more devastating and destructive, and could hasten the collapse of the US regime,” Sharif warned in a statement carried by Iran’s Fars news agency.
Separately, Mohammad Reza Naqdi, deputy commander for coordination in the Guards, warned:
“If there is even the slightest attack on any Shiite religious authority, whether successful or not, no American agent will leave this region alive. All American diplomats, military personnel and employees in the region will be killed or captured.”
The comments came after Trump on Friday sharply criticized Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, warning that he would consider bombing the country again if Tehran continued to enrich uranium.
On June 22, the US dropped six bunker-busting bombs on the Fordow nuclear facility and launched dozens of cruise missile strikes on sites in Natanz and Isfahan as part of a campaign against Iran’s nuclear program.
Earlier on Saturday, thousands of Iranians gathered in Tehran to attend a funeral procession for those killed in recent Israeli airstrikes, including military commanders, nuclear scientists and civilians.
The 12-day standoff between Israel and Iran erupted on June 13 when Israel launched airstrikes on Iranian military, nuclear and civilian sites, killing at least 606 people and wounding 5,332, according to Iran’s Health Ministry.
Tehran launched a retaliatory missile and drone attack on Israel, killing at least 29 people and wounding more than 3,400, according to figures released by the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
The conflict was halted by a US-sponsored ceasefire that took effect on June 24.
