Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
Photo: Reuters
Iranian military exercise
Photo: AP
Iran army chief: Zionist regime collapsing
Iranian chief of staff says his country detects signs of 'Zionist regime' collapsing
The chief of staff of the Iranian army, General Atallah Salhi, said on Friday that Tehran has detected signs that the "Zionist regime" is falling apart.
"Over the last few months we saw an offensive by the enemy against the Lebanese people and Hizbullah and we then saw signs that the Zionist regime is collapsing, and now we saw signs that the American leadership is collapsing," he said, warning that Iran can defeat Israel.
Salahi spoke during a parade in Tehran to mark "The Holy Defense Week" which marks the start of the Iran-Iraq war.
He addressed Israel and the United States saying: "We are not telling you to be scared of us, but to be careful and learn from your latest defeat."
He also addressed Western concerns over his country's nuclear program: "We have no need to produce non-conventional weapons like chemical weapons. We produced conventional weapons of great effectiveness which will allow us to defeat the enemy in any situation. We have no doubt that we will defeat the enemy on every front it chooses to attack us."
Iranian news agency Fars reported that 25 Iranian-made missiles were paraded. Iranian Revolutionary Guards units displayed Shihab 1, 2, and 3 missiles, T-72S and T-72Z tanks, Zelzal 1 and Fajr 5 missiles and various unmanned vehicles.
Iranian Vice President Parviz Davoodi said Iran will strike the enemy with "lightning speed" if attacked. "We are interested in peace, but we warn those who are planning to attack us that we will defend the homeland and Islam."
"Our lions are very strong. They can attack the enemy like lightening and crush it. Our forces don't need nuclear weapons to deal a blow to the enemy," he said.
