The commander of Iran’s powerful Revolutionary Guard, General Hossein Salami, taunted the U.S. on Friday by declaring it “wildly hated by the world, especially in Muslim-dominated countries.”
AP reports Salami spoke against a backdrop of thousands chanting “death to Israel” and “death to America” as they marched in a funeral procession in Tehran for the seven Revolutionary Guard members killed in an airstrike widely attributed to Israel that destroyed Iran’s Consulate in the Syrian capital.
“The Zionist regime is like a dagger that the satanic British regime stabbed the body of the Islamic nation with 75 years ago,” Salami said, adding that the “Zionist regime is still alive with the United States’ artificial respiration.”
The mass public display came at a time of heightened concerns about possible retaliation by Iran for Monday’s strike that killed 12 people, including four Syrian citizens and a member of the Lebanese militant Hezbollah group, according to officials cited by AP.
Commander-in-Chief of the Revolutionary Guards Army, Hossein Salami (C) attends the funeral ceremony held for members of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) killed in an Israeli attack on Damascus. (Fatemeh Bahrami/Anadolu via Getty Images)
The protesters in the capital headed to Tehran University where Salami gave his speech that promised “no threat will go unanswered” in retaliation for Israel’s apparent strike, the AP report set out.
“The collapse of (the Zionist regime) is very possible and close with God’s grace,” Salami continued, adding the U.S. has become “wildly hated by the world, especially in Muslim-dominated countries.”
The public funeral coincided with Iran’s annual rally Quds Day, or Jerusalem Day, a traditional show of support for the Palestinians that has been held on the last Friday of Ramadan since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
Friday’s outburst is just the latest in a long string of threats made by Salami against the U.S. and its allies.
As Breitbart News reported, in 2020 he vowed Iran would deliver a “painful” blow to the U.S. somewhere in the Middle East.
Just how Iran would do this was not outlined, however he has also declared Iran has special “hidden” military powers it is ready to unleash at any moment on an unsuspecting world.
According to the domestic Fars News, Salami said enemies of his country are unaware of the double-secret capabilities of the Islamic nation.
He added Tehran has significantly enhanced its military power to create threats and problems unknown and unexpected hurdles for anyone who dares oppose it.