Iran: We Will Not Stop Supporting Terror Groups

Iran’s Defense Minister Hossein Dehqan stressed that Iran will continue providing material support to Hezbollah, Hamas, Islamic Jihad, or any other terrorist group fighting the U.S. and Israel, reports Tehran Times.

Iran will continue supporting “resistance movements” such as Hezbollah, Hamas, and Islamic Jihad, said the defense minister on September 1. All three groups mentioned by Dehqan have been officially designated as terrorist organizations by the United States and other Western countries.

“We have often declared publicly that we will not stop material or spiritual support for Hezbollah or any other resistance organizations that are fighting the U.S. and the Zionist regime,” stressed the Islamic Republic’s defense chief.

On the heels of Dehqan’s comments, Iranian land force Commander Ahmadreza Pourdastan, proclaimed that despite the nuclear deal Iran struck with the U.S. and five other world powers, hostilities between the Islamic Republic and America will likely continue due to the strong relationship America maintains with Israel.

“It is true that we have had an agreement with the U.S. in the nuclear field, but U.S. enmity towards us is deeply rooted,” said Pourdastan in a speech addressing land force commanders in Tehran, The Jerusalem Post reported on Thursday, citing Iran’s state-run Far News agency.

“The occupying Zionist regime is the U.S. redline, and we have a problem with the child-killer Israeli regime,” he added.

The Iranian commander accused the United States of sponsoring terrorist organizations in the Middle East, namely the Islamic State (ISIS/ISIL).

His comments come after Brig. Gen. Mohsen Kazzemeini, a senior Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps Commander (IRGC), said Wednesday that Iran will not stop its military buildup until Israel is annihilated.

“And we will continue defending not just our own country, but also all the oppressed people of the world, especially those countries that are standing on the forefront of confrontation with the Zionists,” he added, likely referring to Iran’s consistent support of Hezbollah, Hamas, and the regime of Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad, notes Breitbart News’ Jordan Schachtel.

Gen. Kazzemeini made those comments in the midst of massive military drills in Tehran that included a 250,000-strong Basij volunteer paramilitary force.

Pentagon leaders, President Obama, and members of his administration have conceded that Iran will use a portion of the billions of dollars in sanction relief funds it expects to receive under the nuclear deal to fund terrorist groups such as Hezbollah.