The commander of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has threatened Israel with a large-scale counterattack by allied militias in the region.
“The criminal and terrorist Zionist regime (Israel) and its supporters must face the holy wrath of the resistance groups,” said General Hossein Salami, according to the website of the IRGC, Iran’s powerful paramilitary organization charged with protecting the government at home and abroad.
Iran’s non-state allies include the Houthis in Yemen and the Hezbollah militias in Lebanon, as well as militias loyal to Iran in Iraq and Syria.
In a letter to Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, the commander spoke of harsh and bloody revenge. Salami wrote that Israel would have to pay a high price for the killing of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh and Hezbollah commander Fuad Shukr.
Tensions in the region have been running high since Israel killed Shukr in an airstrike on Beirut.
Haniyeh was also killed in the Iranian capital, Tehran. Iran and the Palestinian militant organization Hamas hold Israel responsible for Haniyeh’s death, but Israel has neither confirmed nor denied that it played a role.
Since then, Iran and its allies, including Hezbollah, have imposed “severe punishment” on Israel over Haniyeh’s killing.
Iranian army chief Mohammad Bagheri also vowed “blood vengeance” against Israel. He said the armed forces were now only thinking about the timing and execution of a retaliatory strike. “The only certainty is that the Zionists (Israel) will bitterly regret this act,” the general said.
Meanwhile, Israel will not hold back if Iran carries out an attack in retaliation, a senior Israeli security official warned on Friday.
