TEHRAN – Major General Hossein Salami, head of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC), has said Iran has created the necessary conditions for destruction of the illegitimate Zionist regime.

 “This regime should be wiped off the world’s geography and this is not an ideal or dream anymore,” Salami said on Monday, according to Mehr.

In remarks almost three years ago, Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said the Zionist regime would cease to exist in the next 25 years if the Palestinians persist in their “collective” struggle.

“As we said before, the Zionist regime will cease to exist if there is a collective and united fight by the Palestinian and the Muslims against the Zionists,” Ayatollah Khamenei said in December 2016.

Also in April 2018, Chief of the Iranian Army Abdolrahim Mousavi said destroying the Zionist regime is one of the major tasks of the IRGC, calling for a concerted effort towards that aim.

Elsewhere in his Monday remarks, General Salami said Iran’s enemies are suffering from an “irreversible decline” and confess that they are suffering from a “political dementia”.

Today, the enemy is retreating from the region and its economic sanctions against the Iranian nation are turning inefficient and ineffective, he said, pointing to the U.S. sanctions on Tehran.

The IRGC chief also pointed to the downing of an intruding American drone by his forces a few months ago, saying, “The downing of the super-advanced American drone as well as claiming responsibility for it were acts beyond political bravery.” 

Back in June, the aerospace unit of the IRGC shot down an unmanned U.S. surveillance drone after it breached Iran’s airspace. The IRGC brought the drone down by firing a surface-to-air missile at it.

Amir Ali Hajizadeh, commander of the aerospace unit of the IRGC, said the drone had received warnings for four times before being shot down.

Following the incident, General Salami said the downing of the American drone sent a “clear message” to Washington.

“The message is that while Tehran is not seeking war it is completely ready to fight if necessary,” he said.

“The downing of the American drone conveyed a clear message and it was the fact that the defenders of Iran’s borders will give a crushing and finishing response to intrusions by any foreign entity,” he added.

MH/PA