Iranian elite army: Destruction of Israel is a goal within reach

The destruction of Israel is no longer a dream but a goal within reach. That is what Hossein Salami, a general of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, stated today.

“During the first 40 years of the Islamic revolution, we have succeeded in reaching the capacity to destroy the deceptive Zionist regime,” said Salami according to Sepahnews, the official website of the Revolutionary Guard. “In the second phase (of the revolution), the lurid regime must be wiped off the map. That is no longer an ideal or dream, but a goal that is within reach.”

The statements made by Salami at a meeting of commanders of the Guard were taken over by the news agencies Tasnim and Fars, who lean on the ultra-conservatives in Iran.

Escalation of tensions

Observers fear an escalation of tensions between Iran on the one hand and the United States and their allies – including Israel – on the other, which could spread to other countries in the Middle East.

Iran’s hostility to Israel has been a constant in Iranian policy since the Islamic Revolution in 1979. Iran supports openly armed Palestinian groups such as Hamas or the Islamic Jihad, just like the Lebanese Hezbollah, also a sworn enemy of Israel.

In June 2018, the Iranian supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, confirmed Iran’s old position that Israel is “a malignant tumor that needs to be removed and destroyed” for the Middle East.

The Iranian regime’s official communication about Israel is generally a bit more moderate. For a few years now, the discourse that Israel will cease to exist is because of its arrogance, and not because of Iran.