Israeli military action against Iran's nuclear program would lead to the collapse of the Jewish state, a high-ranking Iranian general said on Saturday, according to the Iranian Fars news agency.
Last week's round of nuclear talks between Iran and world powers in Moscow failed to secure a breakthrough, heightening fears that Israel might take unilateral military action to curb Iran's nuclear activities. The two sides agreed to a follow-up meeting of technical experts on July 3, saving the process from outright failure.
"They [the Israelis] cannot do the slightest harm to the [Iranian] revolution and the system," Brig. Gen. Mostafa Izadi, deputy chief of staff of Iran's armed forces, told Fars. He said Hezbollah proved this during the Second Lebanon War, when "a small group of Hezbollah fighters similar to Iranian Basij fighters defeated Israel."
"The Islamic Revolution enjoys high capability, and if the Zionist regime wants to take an action against us, it will bring about its own demise," the Iranian general said. "If they act logically, such threats amount to a psychological war, but if they want to act illogically, it is they who will be destroyed ... In addition to military capabilities, we also have many other capabilities and possibilities which are way beyond the Zionist regime's abilities and capabilities. For instance, the many islands that Iran has in the Persian Gulf have provided us with capabilities to make Iran the superior military force in the region."
Izadi's comments are an apparent response to Vice Prime Minister Shaul Mofaz's calls for tougher sanctions against Tehran and his indication that military action is still an option.
Analysts say Iranian officials use such rhetoric as a way of stoking Western concerns about chaos in the Middle East and the disruption of oil supplies in the event of military action.
During negotiations in Moscow, the six powers — the U.S., China, Russia, France, Britain and Germany — demanded that Iran scale back its nuclear work and, in particular, stop enriching uranium to levels that could bring it close to making an atom bomb. The demands included the shutting down of the Fordo underground uranium enrichment facility and the shipping of any stockpiles out of the country. In return, they offered fuel to keep Iran's medical isotope reactor running, assistance in nuclear safety and an end to a ban on spare parts for Iran's aging civilian aircraft.
Iran denies its work has any military purpose and says the powers should offer it relief from sanctions and acknowledge its right to enrich uranium before it meets their demands.
On Friday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said the latest round of talks in Moscow were “quite useful,” even though there was no breakthrough. He said talks had to continue without “any artificial deadlines or ultimatums.”
“In order to settle the issue, it’s necessary to refrain from constant threats of using force, abandon scenarios aimed against Iran, and stop dismissing the talks as a failure,” Lavrov said on Russia’s Rossiya 24 television.
He said the international talks must not be dragged out, but that it would be wrong to “put forward any artificial deadlines and ultimatums and say that if there is no final agreement by the end of July or August — and there simply can’t be any in such a period — then we will end talks and launch some kind of bellicose actions.”
Meanwhile, the Business Insider website reported on Saturday that "U.S. defense contracts, Israel's new submarine acquisitions and Iranian military exercises suggest that all sides are getting ready for the possibility of military conflict."
The report points to several recent U.S. defense contracts that suggest it is preparing for an attack on Iran, among them, a $338 million contract that would provide the U.S. Navy with 361 Tomahawk cruise missiles in their most recent configuration. It says that 238 of those missiles will be designated for launch from submarines, and the remainder from U.S. Navy ships like the Ticonderoga-class Arleigh Burke guided missile cruiser currently operating with the Bahrain-based 5th Fleet.
The report notes that the Tomahawk cruise missiles are the same ones that were used in the international operation to bring down former Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi last year. In that operation, 124 missiles were launched from Navy ships and submarines against Gadhafi's missile defense and anti-aircraft systems around Tripoli.
"The U.S. could simply be renewing depleted reserves from that mission, as well as others, or it could be planning ahead for a specific attack. With work on the contract expected to be completed in 2014, this particular batch wouldn't be used in any immediate action, but could replenish reserves spent in any upcoming airstrikes," Business Insider said.
The report comes just a few weeks after Israel acquired a fourth German-made submarine capable of launching nuclear warheads, expanding a fleet that experts say could be used in an attack on Iran.
