Netanyahu: The Israeli Army is Ready and Iran Will Pay a Heavy Price

With escalating tensions between Israel and Iran, on Friday, April 31, Benjamin Netanyahu, the Prime Minister of Israel, stated that his country's army is prepared to 'pay any price' in pursuit of its 'mission,' but 'Iran will also pay a heavy price.' On the other hand, Hossein Salami, the deputy commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) in Iran, addressed Israel, saying, 'Any war that occurs will certainly lead to your annihilation, and the only way you have is to flee to the sea.' According to Israeli media, Netanyahu said on Friday, 'We hear threats from Iran; the warriors of the defense army and security institutions are ready for any developments; we will fight anyone who wants to harm us; we are not afraid of paying any price necessary, and we will take the necessary price from those who wish for our destruction.' The Israeli Prime Minister added that 'the Israeli Defense Forces are ready for the mission, and the nation stands with the army.' According to Ynet, Benjamin Netanyahu made these remarks at a special government meeting, marking the seventy years of Israel's independence in the historic Independence Hall in Tel Aviv. However, shortly after, Hossein Salami, the deputy commander of the IRGC, in a speech in Tehran, addressed the Israelis, saying, 'I have a serious recommendation for you; we know you well, and you are very vulnerable; you have neither depth nor a rear; you are as fragile as our Operation Bait al-Maqdis (in the Iran-Iraq war); you are in a crossfire from every point in the occupied territory, from the north and west, and this is a new phenomenon.' According to Tasnim, a news agency close to the IRGC, Salami continued addressing the Israelis, stating, 'You have no way to escape; you live in the mouth of the dragon, and know that the resistance front is much stronger than before, and do not think that new wars will be like the 33-day war (the military operation of the Israeli army and Hezbollah in the summer of 2006) and the 22-day war (the military operation of the Israeli army and Hamas in the fall of 2008)... Listen: any war that occurs will certainly lead to your annihilation.' The deputy commander of the IRGC, who was the speaker before the Friday prayer sermon in Tehran, also told the Israelis that 'the smallest target is your existence; you cannot endure; when your citizens and military personnel flee, you will have nowhere to go but to fall into the sea. Do not trust your air bases; they are vulnerable and will soon be out of service; do not rely on America and Britain; they will arrive when you are not there... so do not make dangerous calculations...' As Ynet reported, with the escalation of verbal conflict between Israel and Iran, the state of alert in northern Israel continues. This news outlet added that the tone of the Israeli Prime Minister has become 'more explicit' after the worsening threats from Iran in response to the recent attack attributed to Israel in Syria. In response to Salami's remarks, Avigdor Lieberman, the Israeli Defense Minister, on Friday during a visit to the Gaza-Israel border, said, 'Do not test us; our readiness for any scenario and to confront war on multiple fronts is unprecedented.' Lieberman had also stated two days earlier, 'The situation is fragile, and the occurrence of war is possible at any moment... and enemies must take the warnings seriously.' Reuven Rivlin, the President of Israel, also on Thursday at a ceremony awarding 120 outstanding soldiers of the Israeli army, in the presence of leaders and foreign guests, said, 'It is no longer a secret that we are facing direct Iranian efforts to strike Israel; our soldiers carry a great responsibility (in confrontation) on the shoulders of our youth.' Naftali Bennett, the leader of the Jewish Home party and an ally of Netanyahu's government, also at a memorial ceremony for the fallen on the path to Israel's independence said, 'Israel is stronger than Iran... and Iran should not test Israel.' The attack on the T-4 base in Homs province, Syria, on the morning of April 20, which was initially attributed to Israel by Russia and then by Syria and Iran, occurred three days after Israel 'revealed' that Iran had sent a combat drone with a 'suicidal mission' from the T-4 base towards Israeli airspace on February 10 of the previous year. Israel stated on April 17 that the breach of the Iranian drone into Israeli airspace constituted Iran's direct entry into military confrontation with Israel, while previously, the Islamic Republic of Iran had acted against Israel through its proxy arms such as Hezbollah and Hamas. At that time, Israel shot down the drone and in subsequent extensive airstrikes on 'Iranian and Syrian targets' in several locations in Syria, an Israeli fighter jet crashed in Israeli territory. However, in the attack on April 20 on the T-4, at least seven Iranian dispatched military personnel, including a colonel from Iran's drone unit, were killed. Ali Akbar Velayati, an advisor to the Iranian leader who went to Syria a day after the attack on T-4, stated that 'this crime will certainly not go unanswered,' and Ali Shirazi, the deputy of the Supreme Leader in the Quds Force of the IRGC, also said, 'With the slightest foolishness from Israel, Tel Aviv and Haifa will be leveled to the ground.' Following this, Bahram Qasemi, the spokesman for the Iranian Foreign Ministry, stated that Israel 'will receive the necessary response sooner or later... and will regret its actions.'