TEHRAN — The chief of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) has said that the United States is rotten from within and isolated from without.

“America is rotten from within and isolated from without … The dear people of Iran should not be worried and should live in tranquility,” Major General Hossein Salami said in remarks on Monday, Mehr reported.

He made the remarks on the sidelines of a commemoration ceremony for more than one million war veterans during the eight years of the Sacred Defense (Iran-Iraq war) on Monday.

“America has lost its symbols and even the American people are now shouting ‘Death to America’,” the general said, adding that the American people destroy statute which represent the U.S. and burn the U.S. flag.

It came a week after U.S. President Donald Trump threatened Iran with a “1,000 times greater” attack in response to a fake news story run by Politico which claimed Iran is planning to assassinate the U.S. ambassador to South Africa.

“According to press reports, Iran may be planning an assassination, or another attack, against the United States in retaliation for the killing of terrorist leader Soleimani, which was carried out for his planning a future attack, murdering U.S. Troops, and the death & suffering caused over so many years,” Trump wrote in his Twitter page, pointing to the U.S. assassination of Iran’s anti-terror commander Lieutenant General Qassem Soleimani on January 3.

“Any attack by Iran, in any form, against the United States will be met with an attack on Iran that will be 1,000 times greater in magnitude!” Trump added.

In remarks on Saturday, Salami warned Trump of a decisive revenge for the assassination of General Soleimani.

“Our promise to take revenge for the martyrdom of General Soleimani is decisive, serious and completely genuine,” he said.

“Mr. Trump, do not doubt our revenge because it is completely decisive and serious,” he told the U.S. president.

General Salami pointed to the Politico report as well. “Do you think we would target a female ambassador in South Africa for the blood of our martyred brother?” he asked.

“The Americans should know that we will target whoever had a role in the cowardly assassination of General Soleimani,” he said. “This is a serious message.”

“These threats are serious and we’re not engaging in a war of words,” he said, adding, “Rather, we’ll leave everything to the field of action.”

MH/PA