Air Force Commander: We Are Eagerly Prepared to Erase Israel from the Earth

The commander of the Iranian Air Force stated that "the youth of the Air Force are eagerly and wholeheartedly ready to fight the Zionist regime and erase them from the earth." Aziz Nasirzadeh, in an interview with the Young Journalists Club website, affiliated with state media, said: "Our current and future generations are eagerly and wholeheartedly ready to battle the Zionist regime and erase them from the earth." He added: "Our future generations are vigorously acquiring the necessary knowledge for the day of reckoning and the destruction of Israel." These remarks come as Israel has expressed concern over the Islamic Republic's "military presence" in Syria and is engaged in military suppression of this presence. In recent months, Israel has repeatedly targeted Iranian positions in Syria, and in this context, Gadi Eisenkot, the then Chief of Staff of the Israeli army, stated that since 2017, Israel has attacked "thousands" of Iranian targets in Syria. In the latest instance, the Israeli army announced on Monday morning that it had targeted the positions of the Quds Force of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps in Syria. Israel has warned Syria to refrain from retaliatory actions against its territory or forces. The emphasis by Aziz Nasirzadeh, the commander of the Islamic Republic's Air Force, on "erasing" Israel "from the earth" comes at a time when Mohammad Javad Zarif, Iran's Foreign Minister, recently stated that "we have never sought the destruction of any country." Zarif added in an interview with the French weekly Le Point: "But regarding what concerns us, when did we say we would destroy Israel? Just find one person who has said this. No one has said such a thing." He also commented on the statements of other Iranian officials regarding the "erasure of Israel," noting that Ayatollah Khomeini said that "Israel will be erased from the page of time… [meaning] Israel will face this fate due to the policies it pursues… not that it intends to destroy it." Zarif's remarks come despite existing tapes and films of Ruhollah Khomeini, the founder of the Islamic Republic, referring to Israel as a "cancerous tumor" and stating, "If we can reach them, we will cut them off to the end." On the other hand, the leader and other officials in Tehran have repeatedly spoken of the "erasure" of Israel, and Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has emphasized that this country "will not see the next 25 years." The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has also repeatedly inscribed the phrase "Israel must be erased from the page of time" in Hebrew on its missiles. The United Nations, the United States, the European Union, and several other countries have repeatedly criticized the verbal attacks of senior Iranian officials against Israel and have strongly condemned the threats to destroy Israel.