Jazayeri: Saudi Arabia is not at the level of the Islamic Republic to enter the military arena

The spokesperson for the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Iran described Saudi Arabia's military exercise in the Persian Gulf as "a simple and low-level parade and exercise" and stated that this country "is not a number that can enter the military scene at the level of the Islamic Republic." According to Mehr News Agency, Masoud Jazayeri said on Tuesday, October 10, that Saudi Arabia attempted to portray this exercise as "grand" through the media, but based on our observations, this exercise was at a low level. Regarding the possible intention of Saudi Arabia to attack Iran, he stated that not only does this country and its allies "lack the capability to do so, but the United States also lacks such capability." He pointed to Iran's military capabilities, saying that Saudi Arabia "is not a number that can enter the military scene at the level of the Islamic Republic." Saudi Arabia began a naval exercise in the waters of the Persian Gulf, the Strait of Hormuz, and the Sea of Oman on October 5, which it has called "the largest maneuver in the history of the region." Admiral Majid al-Qatani, the commander of the "Gulf Shield 1" exercise, previously told the Saudi state news agency that the purpose of this maneuver is to increase the readiness of the country's forces to defend the interests of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia against any potential aggression. Ahmed al-Assiri, the spokesperson for the Saudi army, also stated that this maneuver is not an action against Iran and its goal is to counter "terrorist threats" in the region. However, the Revolutionary Guards described this maneuver on October 6 as "a clear example of creating tension" in the region and requested that the participating vessels in this exercise "not even pass through international waters close to Iran's territorial waters." Mark Toner, the spokesperson for the U.S. State Department, reacted to this warning by stating that the United States "supports freedom of navigation in that region and other parts of the world." Senior officials of the Islamic Republic, including Ali Khamenei, the leader, and military and security commanders, have repeatedly threatened Saudi Arabia in recent months. In this context, Gholamreza Jalali, the head of Iran's Passive Defense Organization, named Saudi Arabia as a "priority threat" against the Islamic Republic on October 3, stating that "we are engaged with Saudi Arabia in three areas: military, economic, and cyber." According to some experts, the regional rivalry between Iran and Saudi Arabia has currently taken various forms, including adopting different policies in the oil market and has also turned into a proxy war between the two countries in the context of the conflicts in Yemen and Syria. Meanwhile, officials of the Islamic Republic have strongly reacted to the airstrike on Saturday at the memorial service for Sheikh Ali al-Ruwaishan, the father of the Houthi government's interior minister, which resulted in the death of more than 140 people and injured 525 others. Among them, Mohammad Javad Zarif, the Iranian foreign minister, in a letter to the UN Secretary-General, accused Saudi Arabia of being involved in the airstrike on Saturday in Sana'a and expressed the "deep anger and disgust" of the Iranian government regarding this attack. Previously, several high-ranking officials of the Islamic Republic, including Ali Shamkhani, the head of the Supreme National Security Council, have accused Saudi Arabia of attempting to create insecurity in southeastern Iran and "sending weapons" and supporting "terrorist groups" in this region.