Commander of the IRGC Issues 'Advice' and Threat to Saudi Officials

Mohammad Ali Jafari, the commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), threatened the Saudi government, stating: "We advise the Saudis to stop cooperating with imperialism and join the nations of the region; otherwise, they will face the repercussions of the Resistance Front." Iranian officials refer to the United States and its allies as 'imperialists' and call the Islamic Republic of Iran and its allied countries the 'Resistance Front.' According to Tasnim News Agency, Jafari said in a press conference on Thursday (November 23) that "today, Yemen is under the control of Ansarullah, and Iran's assistance is limited to advisory and moral support, which Yemen needs more than ever." He added that the Islamic Republic does not hesitate to provide these 'assistance' to Yemen, and "this path will continue." As the proxy battle between Tehran and Riyadh unfolds in Yemen, following Syria and Iraq, the IRGC commander announced that the Islamic Republic, like in Syria, assists the Shia of Yemen at the "request of the people and the Resistance Front." Jafari accused Saudi Arabia of having "intelligence and security cooperation" with Israel, adding that since "Saudi Arabia does not deny this, it is natural that Saudi Arabia is on the opposite side of the revolution." He described Saudi leaders as "puppets of global imperialism" and stated that "the position of the Islamic Republic is that we do not deal with the puppets of global imperialism; we deal with the Great Satan." The term 'Great Satan' is used by Iranian officials to refer to the United States. This is one of the clearest warnings to Saudi officials from a high-ranking military commander in Iran. Relations between Iran and Saudi Arabia, which turned openly hostile after the deaths of hundreds of Iranian pilgrims in Mina and the attack by Hezbollah forces in Iran on the Saudi embassy in Tehran and its consulate in Mashhad, have deteriorated further in recent weeks following the resignation of Saad Hariri, the Lebanese Prime Minister, which Iran claims was under pressure from Riyadh. Mohammed bin Salman, the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, referred to the leader of the Islamic Republic as a "new Hitler" emerging in the Middle East in unprecedented remarks on Thursday. In an interview with The New York Times, he stated that there must be a confrontation with the Islamic Republic, which under the leadership of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is expanding its borders. Previously, the Crown Prince had threatened, "We will bring the war that Iran has started in the region into its borders." Kadhim Sadeghi, the interim Friday prayer leader of Tehran, labeled Saudi leaders as "criminals," "the libertines of the time," and "mercenaries," promising that the Shia of Yemen will soon be "victorious." According to ISNA news agency on Friday (November 24), Sadeghi stated that unlike Yemen, which "has nothing but faith and a Basij spirit," the Saudi government "has everything." He asserted that victory belongs to Yemen in the conflict between the Arab coalition led by Saudi Arabia and the Yemeni Houthis, adding that "Yemen is the mobilization of God and the sincere army of truth, and God willing, they will soon be victorious." Sadeghi further claimed that the "flag of global guidance" is in the hands of the "Guardian Jurist" and warned Saudi officials that they cannot "destroy" the movement of the Islamic Revolution in Iran. On the same day, Ali Khamenei, the leader of the Islamic Republic, announced that "the Islamic Republic of Iran will assist wherever there is a need to confront disbelief and imperialism, without considering anyone's opinion." In this context, the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia referred to Khamenei as the "new Hitler." Khamenei stated, "Wherever there is a need to confront disbelief and imperialism, we will help." Reuters reported that the U.S. is pressuring Saudi Arabia to reduce the blockade on Yemen.