A deputy commander of Iran’s terror-linked Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) in a recent speech boasted about waging jihad against its enemies, claiming that the United States “has been defeated,” Israel is “struggling to survive,” and the Sunni Saudi Arabia regime will not last, a non-profit group that monitors Middle East media reported this week.
“America, too, is distressed today, It does not have the appearance of a world power at all – America, too, has been defeated,” Gen. Hossein Salami, a deputy commander of the IRGC, declared after saying the Saudi regime is awaiting death.
“The Zionist regime is struggling to survive by using psychological warfare. Our enemies have despaired. They are helpless,” he added, referring to Shiite Iran’s mortal enemy Israel.
The Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI) learned from the state-run Islamic Republic of Iran News Network (IRINN) TV that the deputy commander of the IRGC made those comments during a speech aired on February 19.
“We are planning to break America, Israel, and their partners and allies. Our ground forces should cleanse the planet from the filth of their existence,” the IRGC deputy commander vowed.
U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration considers the IRGC to be one of Iran’s terror proxies. The United States has officially designated Iran as the world’s leading state-sponsor of terrorism and one of the top threats facing America and its allies in the Middle East.
Under U.S. President Donald Trump, the United States has intensified pressure against the Shiite regime, implementing a wave of crippling sanctions last year after pulling out of the controversial nuclear deal reached between Tehran and America-led powers in 2015.
“We will never lay down our weapons… This is who we are. We were not created for this world. We were chosen to wage jihad,” the top Iranian general proclaimed, adding:
We will break our enemy. …We have a plan. We are organized and motivated. We have faith. We have martyrdom. We have jihad. …Our enemies should know that we will never let them be. The Saudi regime should know that it will not last.
In recent months, Israel has targeted Iranian assets in Syria where Tehran has deployed troops in support of the Russian-backed dictator Bashar al-Assad.
Mutual animosity towards Iran has reportedly brought Israel closer to Sunni Arab Gulf countries.
In December 2018, President Trump announced plans to pull American troops out of Syria, but the White House recently said the U.S. would leave behind a residual force to deal with lingering threats in the country, including Iran.
Trump administration officials have stressed that the 5,000 American troops in Iraq, where Iran-allied militias are reportedly enjoying unprecedented power and influence, will be able to go into Syria if necessary.
The United States wants Iran out of Syria and Yemen, home to a proxy war between Tehran-allied Shiite Houthi rebels and a Saudi-led coalition fighting to restore the internationally recognized government to power.
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