TEHRAN – Iranian Defense Minister Amir Hatami on Sunday strongly responded to Israeli threats against Iran by saying that Tehran will raze Tel Aviv and Haifa to the ground if Israel makes a mistake against Iran.

“Sometimes, the Zionist regime [Israel] out of desperation makes big claims against the Islamic Republic of Iran to allegedly threaten it while this regime knows and if it doesn’t know, it must know that if it does a damn thing, we will raze Tel Aviv and Haifa to the ground,” the defense minister said on Sunday.

Hatami made the remarks at a ceremony held on Sunday to appreciate Iranian soldiers.

He said Iran is now capable of maintaining stability and security.

“Fortunately, today the Islamic Republic of Iran has all the dimensions of power to maintain the stability of the country, and one of the salient features of the soft power of the Islamic Republic, which has various components, is the axis of resistance. The regional power of the Islamic Republic of Iran is another feature one of whose results are resistance groups,” the defense minister pointed out.

Hatami’s remarks came after several Israeli officials issued stern threats against Iran, claiming that Israel is updating plans to attack Iran’s nuclear sites.

Israeli war minister Benny Gantz has recently issued threats against Iran in what appeared to be a message to both Tehran and Washington that Israeli concerns about the 2015 nuclear deal – formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) – should be taken into account in any future nuclear talks, otherwise Israel would “independently” make reckless moves.

“If the world stops them before, it's very much good. But if not, we must stand independently and we must defend ourselves by ourselves,” Gantz told Fox News.

He also echoed threats issued by top Israeli general Aviv Kochavi that Israeli armed forces could attack targets inside Iran.

The Israeli military is updating plans to strike Iranian nuclear sites and is prepared to act independently, Gantz said, claiming that Israel has identified numerous targets inside Iran that would hurt its ability to develop a nuclear bomb.

Following Biden’s win in the United States presidential election, Kochavi, chief of staff of Israel’s armed forces, exactly issued the same threat against Iran while warning Biden against rejoining the JCPOA. In a rare comment on American foreign policy, Kochavi warned Biden against rejoining the nuclear deal and even threatened Iran with military action.

“With the changing of the administration in the United States, the Iranians have said they want to return to the previous agreement. I want to state my position, the position that I give to all my colleagues when I meet them around the world: Returning to the 2015 nuclear agreement or even to an agreement that is similar but with a few improvements is a bad thing, and it is not the right thing to do,” Kochavi said.

The Israeli general went so far as to say that he ordered Israel’s army to prepare offensive options against Iran.

“I have instructed the IDF to prepare several operational plans in addition to existing ones, which we will develop throughout the coming year. The power to initiate them lies with the political echelon. However, the offensive options need to be prepared, ready, and on the table,” Kochavi said in remarks delivered at the Israeli Institute for National Security Studies 14th Annual International Conference.

Iran has warned Israel against making any mistakes, vowing to strongly respond to any Israeli adventurism.

“The Islamic Republic of Iran strongly warns against any adventurism by Israeli regime and reserves its inherent right to self-defense to decisively respond to any threat or wrongful act perpetrated by this regime,” Kazem Gharibabadi, Iran’s Ambassador and Permanent Representative to international organizations in Vienna, told the UN nuclear watchdog’s board of governors on Friday.

In his Sunday remarks, Defense Minister Hatami said, “Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Ali Khamenei responded well to the Zionists many years ago. He said that the Zionist regime is not our main enemy and not at the level to be hostile against the Islamic Republic.”

According to Press TV, Hatami added, “The order of the Commander-in-Chief of the Iranian Armed Forces has been carefully enacted and turned into a blueprint, which will be implemented with a single beckon by the Commander-in-Chief. I advise them not to make this mistake, even verbally.”

SM/PA