Top general says Iran won’t allow action on part of U.S.-led proxies
Fadavi: U.S. and its allies are trying to create a deterrence against Iran
TEHRAN - The second-ranking commander in the IRGC has said while the U.S. itself is not able to do any military adventure it is quite clear the Islamic Republic does not allow its proxies to do so.
"When the United States cannot take action against Iran, we will not even allow its proxies to do so," Brigadier General Ali Fadavi said in a news talk show on Thursday night.
Fadavi made these remarks as Iran is marking the Sacred Defense Week.
Iran refers to defense against the invading Saddam Army in the 1980s as sacred defense.
Saddam invaded Iran on September 22, 1980 with the aim of capturing the oil rich province of Khuzestan in southwest Iran. The imposed war lasted until the summer of 1988.
During the war the former Soviet Union and Europeans sold sophisticated weaponry to the regime of Saddam Hussein. The United States also provided satellite images of Iranian forces to Saddam Hussein’s army.
"During the war, the situation was such that the evils of the great devil of America continued not inside our country, but in lands far away from us, and the only force that existed against these evils was the capability of the Islamic Revolution and at the top of these capabilities was the IRGC and the Quds Force."
The top general went on to say: "The Quds Force of the IRGC has the responsibility to take actions in the face of the machinations against Islam, the Islamic Revolution and Iran in distant lands."
The deputy chief commander of the IRGC said that fighting and carrying out the mission is related to all the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps.
He also pointed Lieutenant General Qassem Soleimani, saying he stands first among all the martyrs of the Islamic Revolution, the imposed war (1980-88 war), and defenders of holy shrines.
Defenders of shrines refers to those Iranians who were martyred in the battle against terrorists in Syria and Iraq.
General Soleimani was martyred in a terrorist drone strike by the United States on January 3, 2020 near Baghdad’s international airport.
"Martyr Soleimani is at the top of the martyrs among the martyrs of the Islamic Revolution, the imposed war and the defenders of the holy shrine, and more than 50 million Iranians participated in different cities for Haj Qassem's funeral," Fadavi explained.
Funeral processions were also held for General Soleimani in Baghdad and shrine cities.
The high-ranking military official stated that the Islamic Revolution under the leadership of Imam Khomeini began in 1963 which affected the whole world, including the arrogant countries.
After the Islamic Revolution in 1979 the enemies imagined that they could undermine the revolution, and from February 1979 they started hatching plots against the Islamic Revolution.
"Of course, they slowly realized that the Islamic Revolution could not be dealt with so easily. After that, they waged an eight-year imposed war in which we ostensibly fought Saddam's regime.”
He said about 80 countries supported Saddam “behind the scenes."
The deputy commander of the IRGC added that for the first time, the two superpowers - the United States and the former Soviet Union - came together and fought against Iran, but they failed to achieve their plots.
Fadavi went on to say that the Americans have not had a single victory against the Islamic Revolution over the past 43 years.
Due to sacrifices that were made by the martyrs during the eight-year war “neither the United States nor any other country dared to fire a single bullet at us,” but the war has been continuing with a different dimension on a much larger scale, General Fadavi explained.
The commander said every incident that has happened in West Asia has been primarily aimed at harming the Islamic Revolution but they all these events have made the Islamic Revolution to emerge stronger.
Fadavi reiterated that the purpose behind the presence of the Americans in the east, west and south of Iran and in Syria and Lebanon was to counter the Islamic Revolution, but they failed to achieve even a single victory.
Every incident that has happened in West Asia has been primarily aimed at harming Iran but all have made the Islamic Revolution stronger.
Fadavi, who was the commander of the IRGC Navy before being appointed to the new job, was indirectly referring to the presence of American troops in Afghanistan in eastern Iran, in Iraq in western Iran and in the Persian Gulf in southern Iran.
He also said, "In the last three months, two missile and drone exhibitions have been held in Yemen, and these are the equipment that are produced inside Yemen, a country that is 100% under siege.
Fadavi added, “If all the Arab countries come together, such an exhibition will not be possible."
The commander also said the Islamic Revolution is constantly making progress. For example, he said, the progresses made in 2021 is not comparable with those of 2019.
“Deterrence against Iran”
He added that all countries are looking for three capabilities: first they seek a defense capability but many lack such a capability, but in the 1980’s the whole world realized that the Islamic Revolution has the ability to defend itself to the highest level; second is a deterrent capability that the world realized in the 1990's that “we have this capability”, and third is a stage when the enemy is “forced” to create a “deterrence against us”.
"The Americans have been announcing for about 10 years that they have to look with their allies for a deterrent force against Iran, which means that we are in the third stage and we can hit the first strike and the enemy is sure about it," The deputy chief commander of the IRGC stated, adding, “Surely, if the enemy, the great devil, was sure that it could take action against us and it would benefit them, it would not have hesitated and would certainly have done so, as it did in Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, Libya, Sudan and Yemen. Of course, it failed there (in all these countries) as well, thanks to the Islamic Revolution, because Iran's role in the global equations is quite clear.
The Americans are “terrified” and announced that Iran has “sneaked into their backyard and they will not be able to stop it," Fadavi highlighted.
He went on to say that the Americans' escape from the region is not related to the past days, the general noted, rather it started from the beginning of the Islamic revolution. However, Fadavi said, all the people of the world, including the Americans, should understand that the Americans are fleeing because there is a “right front” against them that they cannot win against this front and this is “God's promise”.
The general was referring the U.S. scandalous exit from Afghanistan in August which humiliated the Americans at home and made them look weak in the eyes of the world. This happened after 20 years of the occupation of Afghanistan.
"The whole world can understand that the United States fled Afghanistan due to the resistance of the Afghan people and the whole current that has emerged in the region thanks to the Islamic Revolution," The commander remarked.
“Source of insecurity”
General Fadavi underlined, "The Americans in the region could not form an alliance and in all the things they wanted to do, they did not succeed at all because it is impossible for making security to be created by someone who is the source of all insecurity in the world, while we are the source of security in intention and in practice; we did not act against the interests of the nations. And wherever we were present, security was created following our presence."
The deputy chief commander of the IRGC said: "The Americans are not able to create security at all because their goal is to seek their own plans and not security for other countries."
"According to our religious duty, it is not possible for us to go to a place to make insecurity, and if we go somewhere, it is for creating security. Look at our situation in Syria and the sympathy between our people and the people of Syria, Lebanon and Yemen, as if we are one people and we are Muslims."
But wherever the "Americans have gone” they have “created insecurity," he said.
"The Americans have a military presence at about 700 points. The American people should understand that all the misery they have inside the United States is due to officials who cannot do the right thing rationally and spend thousands of billions of dollars without achievement” the IRGC official explained.