Iran says it will destroy any aggressor

[rooster59]

Iran says it will destroy any aggressor

 

FILE PHOTO: Iran's Foreign Minister Javad Zarif reacts during a news conference with Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov (not pictured) after their meeting in Moscow, Russia, September 2, 2019. REUTERS/Evgenia Novozhenina/File Photo

 

DUBAI (Reuters) - Iran will pursue any aggressor, even it carries out a limited attack, and seek to destroy it, the head of the elite Revolutionary Guards said on Saturday, after attacks on Saudi oil sites which Riyadh and U.S officials blamed on Tehran.

 

"Be careful, a limited aggression will not remain limited. We will pursue any aggressor," the head of the Guards, Major General Hossein Salami, said in remarks broadcast on state TV. "We are after punishment and we will continue until the full destruction of any aggressor."

 

U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday approved sending American troops to bolster Saudi Arabia's air and missile defences after the Sept. 14 attacks.

 

Iran denies involvement in the attack, which was claimed by Yemen's Houthi movement, a group aligned with Iran and currently fighting a Saudi-led alliance in Yemen's civil war.

 

Trump's move drew fire in Washington on Saturday from U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who called it his "latest outrageous attempt" to circumvent Congress.

 

"These unacceptable actions are cause for alarm," Pelosi said in a statement accusing Trump of turning "a blind eye" to Saudi violence against innocent Yemenis, human rights abuses and the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

 

"The United States cannot enable more brutality and bloodshed," she added. "Congress will do our job to uphold the Constitution, defend our national security and protect the American people."

 

Meanwhile, Amirali Hajizadeh, who heads the Revolutionary Guards' aerospace branch, said any attacks on Iran would receive "a crushing response", the official news agency IRNA reported.

 

Hajizadeh was speaking at a public exposition called "Hunting Vultures", where remains of drones which were downed in Iran or crashed there were displayed, along with the Iranian air defence system which shot down a U.S. military drone in June.

 

The exposition is part of annual events commemorating the start of the 1980-88 war with Iraq, which also includes air and naval displays in the Gulf and military parades on Sunday.

 

Iran's foreign minister meanwhile denounced renewed U.S. sanctions against its central bank following the Saudi attacks as an attempt to deny ordinary Iranians access to food and medicine, and said the move was a sign of U.S. desperation.

 

The United States on Friday imposed more sanctions, targeting the Central Bank of Iran, which was already under U.S. sanctions, the National Development Fund of Iran - the country's sovereign wealth fund - and an Iranian company that U.S. officials say is used to conceal financial transfers for Iranian military purchases.

 

"This is a sign of U.S. desperation ... When they repeatedly sanction the same institution, this means their attempt at bringing the Iranian nation to its knees under 'maximum pressure' has failed," Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif told reporters in remarks shown on state television.

 

"But this is dangerous and unacceptable as an attempt at blocking ... the Iranian people's access to food and medicine," Zarif said, speaking after arriving in New York for the annual U.N. General Assembly next week.

 

Separately, Foreign Ministry spokesman Abbas Mousavi rejected what he called "unreal and repetitious accusations by certain Saudi officials" about the attacks, state media said.

 

A senior Saudi official said earlier that Riyadh would wait for the results of a probe before responding to the attacks on its oil facilities, for which it believes Iran is responsible.

 

SANCTIONS

 

Zarif said he would on Wednesday meet foreign ministers of the remaining signatories to the 2015 nuclear accord, which was agreed with Britain, France, Germany, China and Russia as well as the United States.

 

"As we have said before, the United States can only attend if it returns to the (nuclear accord) ... and ends its economic war against Iran," Zarif said.

 

The United States withdrew from the accord last year and re-imposed unilateral sanctions on Iran.

 

After reports on social media of a cyber-attack on some petrochemical and other companies in Iran, a state body in charge of cyber security denied there had been a "successful" attack.

 

"Based on our observations ... there has not been a successful cyber-attack on oil facilities and other critical infrastructure," said an official statement carried by IRNA.

 

NetBlocks, an organisation that monitors internet connectivity, earlier reported "intermittent disruptions" to some internet services in Iran starting on Friday evening.

 

The group said the impact was limited, affecting only specific providers, and the cause was unclear. "Data are consistent with a cyber-attack or unplanned technical incident on affected networks as opposed to a purposeful withdrawal or shutdown incident," it said in a tweet.

 

NetBlocks Director Alp Toker said they saw four Iranian networks falling offline over a three hour period on Friday evening. This began when the first reports emerged and ended shortly afterwards. The networks have been stable since.

 

(Reporting by Dubai newsroom, additional reporting by Jack Stubbs in London and David Morgan in Washington; Editing by Kevin Liffey, Giles Elgood and Daniel Wallis)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2019-09-22

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[sammieuk1]

The time for talking is running out as more of the middle east will become a wasteland with these lunatics running the show???? 

[SteveK]

Quite admire the rhetoric though, can you imagine the UK prime minister threatening to destroy aggressors? Would be highly amusing.

[Tug]

36 minutes ago, sammieuk1 said:

The time for talking is running out as more of the middle east will become a wasteland with these lunatics running the show???? 

Personally I ask mysielf why are we in this position who is directly responsible for this mess?we all know the answere to that one

[bristolboy]

What the more bellicose posters here don't seem to realize is how warfare has changed. The common belief I've seen in evidence is that those cruise missiles and drones should have been stopped or at least monitored by various US systems. Has it ever occurred to any of them that maybe these systems and their coverage isn't as good as advertised? That maybe their impression of the overwhelming efficacy of US surveillance systems owes more to the movies than to reality? We are in an age of asymmetric warfare where, thanks to technological advances, very smart weapons can be created for relatively small amounts of cash. And not even the military with the biggest budget by far in the world, may be able to stop them.

[meechai]

I really do not think Iran is responsible for the attack.

 

But they make a useful scapegoat especially in light of others recent

proclamation that they deserve to attack anyone they "Think" may be a threat

 

The US would be wise to heed John Quincy Adams warning & advise

But she goes not abroad in search of monsters to destroy.

[canuckamuck]

War is a racket. Big money is going to get spent. Tax payers will pay, and a handful will receive. Not to mention the spoils of war. America is still manufacturing consent, but they won't let this one get away.

Israel and Saudi will not be sad to see this kick off either for obvious reasons.

But I expect Iran will not be as easy Iraq. Not that a quick win is even desirable. The American model of war is to establish air superiority and then an extended quagmire. It should be good for 10 years of munition sales.

[legend49]

2 hours ago, Tug said:

Personally I ask mysielf why are we in this position who is directly responsible for this mess?we all know the answere to that one

Manchild?

[grollies]

2 hours ago, thaiguzzi said:

You must be so proud of your country's armed forces.

First, to actually start a war, your politicians (war criminals) had to lie about non existent WMD's.

Secondly, gosh, the Mighty USA against lil 'ole Iraq.

Stunning, just stunning

Theirs and ours mate, don't forget Tony Blair......nor Dr. David Kelly. Suicide? And many say Thailand let the rich and powerful get away with murder. They are only following the example set by the West.

[Puchaiyank]

This is great fun watching as top notch intelligent officials and arms experts duke-it-out on this forum.

 

Thank you for the entertainment...priceless!   ????

[Baerboxer]

3 hours ago, RoadWarrior371 said:

TL;DR

 

Saddam promised the mother of all battles.  I lasted for almost the entire weekend. ????

 

Indeed. I know people who served in British and American tanks. They couldn't believe how comparatively easy it was to what they expected.

 

Iran might be different. But I suspect a very large portion of Iranians don't really want war just because the nutters in charge and the fanatical RG's do.

[steve654]

Doubtful it would happen, but if it does it could be a mess since technically at least China and Russia have an agreement to protect Iran in case of war.  War is dirty business and it could even be possible that China, Russia and the US are itching to test their new weapons at the expense of Iran.  Would be a shame if another proxy war is fought with innocent lives lost for nothing.

[daoyai]

3 hours ago, Tug said:

Personally I ask mysielf why are we in this position who is directly responsible for this mess?we all know the answere to that one

I blame Mohamed 

[Longcut]

4 hours ago, rooster59 said:

"Congress will do our job to uphold the Constitution"

Oh, so you're gonna start now?

[RoadWarrior371]

3 hours ago, bristolboy said:

Unless you're positing that the US is going to invade Iran, how does the success of the first part of the Iraq War bear on any major military confrontation with Iran? 

Similar boasting is the point.  Loosen your turban and you can comprende' much better ????

[Benmart]

3 hours ago, Tug said:

Personally I ask mysielf why are we in this position who is directly responsible for this mess?we all know the answere to that one

Who are the "we" you are refering to. 

[Mel Bourne]

4 hours ago, RoadWarrior371 said:

TL;DR

 

Saddam promised the mother of all battles.  I lasted for almost the entire weekend. ????

The Americans are still in Iraq and Afghanistan with no end in sight.

Trillions of Pentagon dollars gone .

You were saying. ......?

[bristolboy]

55 minutes ago, RoadWarrior371 said:

Similar boasting is the point.  Loosen your turban and you can comprende' much better ????

But that boasting was in the face of an impending invasion. It's clear that Trump is going to do no such thing. So the Iranians feel free to taunt Trump.

[Morch]

14 minutes ago, Mel Bourne said:

The Americans are still in Iraq and Afghanistan with no end in sight.

Trillions of Pentagon dollars gone .

You were saying. ......?

 

That's fair enough. But if to apply Iran's boasting - the USA is not destroyed, and Saddam Hussein isn't around. Doubt most Iranians would sign up for Iran ending up anything like Iraq or Afghanistan, just to get the USA further in debt and stuck in yet another quagmire.

[metisdead]

Troll posts and the replies have been removed. 

[mlmcleod]

What a hoot!  Iran forgets that the US led coalition went through Iraq's army like a hot knife through butter while they were in a stalemate for years with that same Iraqi army.  Why do the leaders of the Muslim countries always have to blow off so much hot air?  They do know that everyone ignores their boasts, right?

[Basil B]

6 minutes ago, mlmcleod said:

What a hoot!  Iran forgets that the US led coalition went through Iraq's army like a hot knife through butter while they were in a stalemate for years with that same Iraqi army.  Why do the leaders of the Muslim countries always have to blow off so much hot air?  They do know that everyone ignores their boasts, right?

Do not expect the Iranians to be a walk over, they are much better trained and have some awesome hardware too. 

[Morch]

8 minutes ago, Basil B said:

Do not expect the Iranians to be a walk over, they are much better trained and have some awesome hardware too. 

 

Yes. They are also better motivated, and more united compared to Iraq's forces. That said, the statement is still obviously a lame propaganda effort. Not out of line with other gems issued from the very same mouth.

[Andrew65]

6 hours ago, Tug said:

Personally I ask mysielf why are we in this position who is directly responsible for this mess?we all know the answere to that one

Israel.

[Nyezhov]

9 minutes ago, Basil B said:

Do not expect the Iranians to be a walk over, they are much better trained and have some awesome hardware too. 

Oh dont be silly.

 

Phase 1, about 12 hours: Cruise Missles take out Iranian Radars, Air Defense, C&C. 

Phase 2, about 12 hours: With the Iranians militarily blinded, USAF assets destroy the Iranian Airforce. 

Then ask them if they want to chat. You dont need boots on the ground.

 

[Nyezhov]

3 minutes ago, Andrew65 said:

Israel.

Of course. The true force of evil in the world. How ever did I not think of that myself ????????????

[Andrew65]

7 minutes ago, Nyezhov said:

Oh dont be silly.

 

Phase 1, about 12 hours: Cruise Missles take out Iranian Radars, Air Defense, C&C. 

Phase 2, about 12 hours: With the Iranians militarily blinded, USAF assets destroy the Iranian Airforce. 

Then ask them if they want to chat. You dont need boots on the ground.

 

The "shock & awe" that they thought would make Iraq much easier than it was.

...then 10+ years of catastrophe that followed, like in Iraq? As Saddam said "The Gates of Hell" would open if Iraq were invaded, he was right there.

Also, if you don't need boots on the ground, why did the US put 150,000 soldiers into Iraq.

I never believe anyone who says this would be easy, as you say.

[Thaidream]

3 minutes ago, Nyezhov said:

Oh dont be silly.

 

Phase 1, about 12 hours: Cruise Missles take out Iranian Radars, Air Defense, C&C. 

Phase 2, about 12 hours: With the Iranians militarily blinded, USAF assets destroy the Iranian Airforce. 

Then ask them if they want to chat. You dont need boots on the ground.

Do you really think that Iran has no cruise missles or intercontinental missles and even in the event of a 12 hour window of Iranian destruction- they will launch on the Saudi Oil fields and make them inoperable for 6 months or more; they will launch on Tel Aviv and Jerusalem as well as  the US Base in Quatar- damaging scores of US aircraft.  At the same time- they will  close down the Straits of Hormuz blocking oil shipments.  A huge amount of US military will need to deploy to the Middle East and invade Iran- The cost in lives will be huge and the monetary cost will be trillions.

 

The Iranians will still be able to conduct terrorist raids possibly in Europe and the USA directly taking the war right to the American heartland.

 

The World economy will go into recession and some countries will have to be supplied by the US strategic oil stockpile which will almost deplete it.

 

Iran isnot Iraq- they have much more sophisticed weapons now than when they fought Iraq.  There are no American Generals pushing for an attack on Iran as they know it won't be over in 12 hours- that would just be the beginning. 

[wabothai]

3 hours ago, Benmart said:

Who are the "we" you are refering to. 

"We are the world, we are the children".

[Morch]

17 minutes ago, Nyezhov said:

Oh dont be silly.

 

Phase 1, about 12 hours: Cruise Missles take out Iranian Radars, Air Defense, C&C. 

Phase 2, about 12 hours: With the Iranians militarily blinded, USAF assets destroy the Iranian Airforce. 

Then ask them if they want to chat. You dont need boots on the ground.

 

 

Armchair generals for the win. About as ridiculous as the OP's headline.