Revolutionary Guard’s Chief Jafari says both countries will see military conflict in the future but stresses ‘it is not clear when or where’ war will take place

By Dudi Cohen, AFP

A war between Iran and Israel “will eventually happen,” Revolutionary Guards commander General Mohammad Ali Jafari said Saturday.

Mohammad Ali Jafari – Photo: AP

“Israel seeks war with us, but it’s not clear when the war will occur,” Jafari was quoted by the ISNA and Fars agencies as saying. “Right now they see war as the only method of confrontation,” he said.

Jafari further expressed confidence that the Islamic Republic “will destroy the Jewish state… This cancerous tumor Israel seeks to launch a war against us, but we do not know when it will happen. If they start (aggression), this will lead to their destruction,” he declared.

Israel’s threats of a strike Iran “Only prove that their enmity with Islam and the revolution is serious, and eventually this enmity will lead to physical conflict,” Jafari said.

Iranian troops at Friday’s parade

“We are making all efforts to increase our defensive capabilities so that if there is an attack… we could defend ourselves and other countries that need our help with high defensive capabilities.”

Last week, Jafari warned that “Nothing will remain” of Israel, should it strike Iran’s nuclear facilities.

Jafari said Iran’s response to any attack would encompass all of Israel’s borders, thus hinting that Tehran will not hesitate to use its regional proxies, Hezbollah and Hamas.

He further cautioned that if attacked, “Iran will no longer be committed to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.”

Also on Saturday, Brigadier General Abdul-Rahim Moussavi, deputy commander of the Iranian Army, warned the Islamic Republic’s enemies of Tehran’s “crushing response” to any strike on its soil.

“In case of an aggression, the enemy will face something that it has never expected,” Moussavi said.

“After all, our enemies are soldiers too, and they know that we have not displayed everything we have,” he told Fars.

If Israel dares “Embark on such a crazy move, it will speed up its annihilation,” he stated.

The military officials’ comments came on the heels of an Iranian power display – a military parade showcasing its ground and air capabilities – held on Friday in Tehran to mark Sacred Defense Week and the 32nd anniversary of the Iraq-Iran war.

As part of the parade, the Revolutionary Guard showcased its various surface-to-surface and surface-to-air missiles.

View original Ynet publication at: http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4284640,00.html