TEHRAN – A top commander of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) has said Iran’s power is much greater that what has been revealed so far, warning that the Islamic Republic is fully prepared for all possible situations in the region.

“The concealed aspects of the Islamic Republic’s power is much beyond what has been revealed so far … and we have prepared ourselves for all probable situations and we will use all our capabilities to defeat the enemy,” Gholam Ali Rashid, the commander of the IRGC’s Khatam al-Anbiya Headquarters, said on Monday, Mehr reported.

“The fate of the region will be determined in the process of our current conflicts with the enemy … and the victory is ours,” added Rashid.

Tensions between Tehran and Washington have risen since last year when President Donald Trump abruptly withdrew the United States from the 2015 nuclear deal and attempted to put “maximum pressure” on the Islamic Republic

Iranian officials argue that Trump’s “maximum pressure” has produced “maximum resistance” from Iran and that Tehran will continue to resist.

Tensions in the Persian Gulf further heightened following a September 14 attack on Saudi Arabia’s oil fields, which the Saudis and their Western allies, especially the U.S., blamed on Iran.

Iran has rejected the claim and called it a “great deceit” in line with “great pressure” campaign on the Islamic Republic.

The Islamic Republic has also warned Washington that any military action against Iran will lead to an “all-out war”.

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said over a week ago that “even the Saudis themselves don’t believe the fiction of Iranian involvement” in the attacks on the Aramco oil facilities.

He also said that a military strike against Iran by the U.S. or Saudi Arabia would result in “an all-out war”.

“I make a very serious statement about defending our country. I am making a very serious statement that we don’t want to engage in a military confrontation. But we won’t blink to defend our territory,” he told CNN.

Zarif said that Iran hoped to avoid conflict, adding that the country was willing to talk to Saudi Arabia and the UAE.

MH/PA