Iran will harshly confront Israel "wherever it feels necessary", Esmail Qaani, the head of the Revolutionary Guards' Quds Force, said on Thursday, according to the semi-official Nour News agency.
In March, Tehran targeted what it called "secret Israeli bases" during a missile attack on Iraq's northern Kurdish regional capital of Erbil. The assault was meant to avenge an alleged Israeli airstrike that killed Iranian military personnel in Syria.
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A Revolutionary Guard marching with shows depicting the Israeli flag
(Photo: Reuters)
"Wherever we identify a Zionist threat, we will harshly confront them, they are too small to confront us," said Qaani, whose unit is in control of the Revolutionary Guards' foreign operations.
The commander pledged to support any group that fights the "Zionist regime" and added that "the destruction of this regime is gaining ground."
Tensions deepened at a time when Iran and world powers were engaged in talks on reviving the 2015 nuclear deal, which Israel opposes.
While not a party to the nuclear negotiations between Iran and world powers in Vienna, Israel has conferred with the U.S. administration in hope of wielding more clout over any revival of a deal with Tehran that was reached over its objections.
On its part, Israel has repeatedly vowed to act against its arch-nemesis, reiterating that it will "not be bound" by any sort of nuclear agreement between Teheran and World powers.
Qaani's threat comes hours after authorities in the West Bank cities of Ramallah and Bethlehem declared a general strike in all public institutions coupled with calls to the Palestinian public to "intensify confrontations with Israel" in protest of the death of three Palestinians during an IDF counterterrorism crackdown in the territory the day before.
On Wednesday, Gaza's various terror groups announced a meeting in the strip to discuss potential escalation against Israel, which culminated in a call to their followers to "defend the al-Aqsa Mosque" against what they deem as Israeli aggression.
The meeting itself comes amid heightened security tension in Israel, exacerbated by both the Holy month of Ramadan as well as Jerusalem's own string of counterterrorism operations in the West Bank, carried out in response to the murder of 14 Israelis earlier this month.