Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi on Tuesday warned Israel not to take action against his country, stating that it was no match for the Islamic Republic.
During an interview with Lebanese channel Al-Mayadeen a day ahead of a planned visit to Syria, Raisi said, “The Zionist entity knows very well that it will never be able to confront Iran.”
Israel’s threats are empty, he continued, “and the proof of this is that it cannot deal with the youth opposing it in Palestine and the region.”
If the “Zionist entity” takes even “the smallest step” against Iran, he said, “our first step will be to remove her. The first foolish step of the Zionist entity will be the last step.”
Israel, said Raisi, “cannot provide security within its borders, as the conditions differ from before to a large extent. It is clear to everyone that the Sharm el-Sheikh, Camp David and Oslo accords cannot provide security for this entity. The decision today is in the hands of the Palestinian mujahideen and is not decided at the political negotiation table.”
Raisi said his visit to Syria was within the framework of its ongoing support to “all fronts of the axis of resistance,” a term Iran uses to describe the alliance of state and non-state actors in the region that it leads.
Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen arrived in Brussels earlier this week to meet with his E.U. counterpart Josep Borrell and other high-ranking officials to shore up European backing for “stopping the Iranian nuclear program and the Iranian terror threat,” according to Cohen’s office.
Also this week, Rep. Kevin McCarthy, the speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, reaffirmed America’s commitment that “Iran will never acquire nuclear weapons” while visiting Israel in celebration of the country’s 75th anniversary.
“Iran seeks to destabilize Iraq. It wants to entrench missiles in Syria. It empowers the terrorist organization Hezbollah in Lebanon and it is fueling a brutal civil war in Yemen. And among all this aggression, it seeks to encircle Israel with hostile forces. We cannot allow the Iranian regime’s evil campaign to succeed,” McCarthy told the Knesset.
Iran has made numerous threats against Israel. As recently as April 18, Raisi threatened to “destroy Haifa and Tel Aviv” in response to the “smallest action” taken by Israel against Tehran.
