Salami: Our Strategy is the Erasure of Israel from the Political Geography of the World

Following the warning from the Secretary General of Hezbollah Lebanon to Benjamin Netanyahu about the consequences of a new war in the region, the Deputy Commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps also threatened that a new war in the region would lead to the "erasure" of Israel. According to the Tasnim news agency, Hossein Salami stated on Tuesday, January 28, in response to threats from Israeli officials to target Iranian positions in Syria: "Our strategy is the erasure of Israel from the political geography of the world, and it seems that with the wickedness that Israel is currently undertaking, it is bringing itself closer to this reality." Salami's remarks about the Islamic Republic's strategy to "erase" Israel come at a time when Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif recently denied threats from Islamic Republic officials to "erase" Israel, stating: "When did we say we would destroy Israel? Just find one person who has said this. No one has said such a thing." In recent months, Israel has repeatedly targeted Iranian positions in Syria, and Hassan Nasrallah, the Secretary General of Hezbollah Lebanon, has warned that continued attacks could lead to a major war in the region. Meanwhile, Salami stated: "If Israel does something that starts a new war, this war will certainly be the one that leads to its erasure, and... even the Israelis in Palestine will not have a graveyard to bury their dead." The Twitter account "Israel in Persian" responded to Salami's remarks by writing: "Mr. Salami, Nazi Germany also tried, but the end of tyrannical regimes is the same." The Kuwaiti newspaper Al-Jarida recently reported that during a meeting of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, it was decided that Iran would ask Syria to respond to any Israeli attack against this country. According to this report, it was also decided that Tehran would inform Russia that if Israeli attacks on Iranian forces in Syria continue, Iran would no longer consider any red lines for itself and would respond in any way it deems necessary. The IRGC or Iran's Supreme National Security Council has not responded to this report. However, Bashar Jaafari, Syria's permanent representative to the UN, warned Israel at last week's Security Council meeting that if it repeats its attack on Damascus airport, Syria may also target Tel Aviv's Ben Gurion airport. Benjamin Netanyahu, the Prime Minister of Israel, in response to the report from the Kuwaiti newspaper said: "As long as I am Prime Minister, I will not cease fighting them... Iran is our greatest enemy." Previously, Israeli officials have repeatedly called for the withdrawal of Iranian forces from Syria and announced that they would continue their attacks against the positions of the Islamic Republic. In response, Iranian Revolutionary Guard commanders have also threatened to fire missiles at Israel. Russian officials have repeatedly spoken about the withdrawal of Iranian forces from Syria, but Iranian officials have rejected these statements. Heshmatollah Falahatpisheh, the head of the National Security and Foreign Policy Commission of the Islamic Consultative Assembly, who recently met with Bashar Assad and Imad Khamis, the President and Prime Minister of Syria in Damascus, acknowledged this coordination between Israel and Russia in an interview with IRNA.