A senior advisor to Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei has threatened to attack all U.S. military bases in the region if the Trump administration shows any aggression against Iran. “If America intends to start a war against Iran, all military bases of this country in the region will become insecure,” Major General Yahya Rahim Safavi said on Wednesday. He claimed that the Iranian military could hit regions up to 2,000 kilometers away from its borders with precision-striking missiles. The former chief commander of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (I.R.G.C.) further hailed Iran’s growing defense capabilities and argued that the United States is no longer in a position to shape security and political dynamics across the world. “Despite claiming to be a superpower, deploying warships around the world and expanding its military bases, America’s power is in decline – as this country has been unable to resolve the Syrian crisis and make its aspirations come true in this country [Syria],” Safavi was quoted as saying by I.R.G.C.-controlled Sepah News. “The ultimate goal of wars is to impose the political will of one country over another government and nation,” he added. “And these imposed actions are carried out either through seizing parts of a country’s territory or installing a particular type of government.”
Comment: It is not the first time that a senior Iranian official is threatening to attack U.S. bases if Washington and its allies show any aggression against the Islamic Republic. In February, a senior member of Iran’s parliament’s National Security and Foreign Policy Commission and former Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (I.R.G.C.) official warned that if Washington “makes any mistake,” Iran will attack Israel and U.S. military bases across the Middle East. “The Fifth Fleet of the U.S. Army has occupied a part of Bahrain, and the farthest military base of the enemy is stationed in the Indian Ocean. But these locations are within the reach of Iranian missiles. If the enemy makes a mistake, they will be razed to the ground,” said Mojtaba Zonour, who has also served as an advisor to the Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei to the I.R.G.C. in the past.
He further noted that 36 U.S. bases are within the range of Iran’s missile systems. Zonour also stressed that the Islamic Republic had prepared its forces for asymmetric war and significantly advanced its missile capabilities. He threatened that Iran would launch a missile attack against Israel if Washington fired a missile against Iran. "And only 7 minutes is needed for the Iranian missile to hit Tel Aviv."
The Iranian threats come as tension between Washington and Tehran over the latter’s ballistic missile program and support for terrorism is escalating. In his recent trip to the Middle East, President Donald Trump sought to create a new regional security alliance to counter terrorism and Iran’s regional ambitions. Washington has also imposed new sanctions against Iran’s ballistic missile program.
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