Iran threatens direct strike on Israel to protect Hezbollah

IRGC general threatens a “harsh, decisive” response against Israel in the case of full-scale war with Hezbollah.

By World Israel News Staff

A senior Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) official appeared to threaten that the Islamic Republic could launch a direct strike on Israeli soil, should Jerusalem engage in a full-scale offensive against Hezbollah.

“Should the Zionist regime launch an attack on Lebanon and initiate a broad conflict with Hezbollah, the Axis of Resistance will not remain passive. A harsh and decisive response will be delivered to counter the Zionists’ malice,” said Brigadier General Kioumars Heydari in a statement on Sunday evening.

The Lebanon-based Shi’ite terror group enjoys generous funding and support from Iran, and Tehran has repeatedly hinted it will act in order to protect Hezbollah from Israeli efforts to dismantle its military capabilities.

While Iranian officials have previously said that they will assist their proxy, including by helping militias based in Syria and Iraq fight against Israel, Heydari’s remarks signify a new escalation in Tehran’s rhetoric warning Israel against an offensive targeting Hezbollah.

“Any imprudent decision by the occupying Israeli regime to save itself could plunge the region into a new war, the consequence of which would be the destruction of Lebanon’s infrastructure as well as that of the 1948 occupied territories,” Iran’s mission to the United Nations said in a social media post on Saturday.

“Undoubtedly, this war will have one ultimate loser, which is the Zionist regime. The Lebanese Resistance Movement, Hezbollah, has the capability to defend itself and Lebanon – perhaps the time for the self-annihilation of this illegitimate regime has come.”

Air Force Gen. Charles Q. Brown, chairman of the United States Joint Chiefs of Staff, warned on Sunday morning that Iran would likely feel compelled to act if Israel takes decisive action against Hezbollah.

Iran “would be more inclined to support Hezbollah…particularly if they felt that Hezbollah was being significantly threatened,” Brown said.

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