The Jerusalem Post reports: Iranian Army Ground Forces commander Brig.-Gen. Kiumars Heidari has warned that Israel can no longer threaten the Islamic Republic.

As tensions continue to rise along Israel’s northern border, Heidari said Iran’s armed forces “are much more powerful than before” and that “the date has been set” for Israel’s destruction, according to official news agency Mehr. He was speaking in Tehran ahead of Iran’s Army Day.

Israeli officials have repeatedly voiced concerns over the growing Iranian entrenchment on its borders and the smuggling of sophisticated weaponry to Hezbollah, from Tehran to Lebanon via Syria, stressing that both are redlines for the Jewish state. Iran’s Army Day is marked on April 18, the same day on which Israel will celebrate its 70th Independence Day.

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