A top Iranian official has threatened Israel that Tehran’s proxy, the Lebanon-based terror group Hezbollah, has over 80,000 missiles at its disposal, and that the Shiite jihadists are ready to fire upon Jerusalem at a moment’s notice.
General Yahya Rahim Safavi, who serves as a top military advisor to Iranian dictator Ali Khamenei, claimed on Thursday that Hezbollah has 80,000 missiles should the “Zionists” threaten Iran.
“Iran, with the help of Hezbollah and its friends, is capable of destroying Tel Aviv and Haifa in case of military aggression on the part of the Zionists,” claimed the Iranian general.
“I don’t think the Zionists would be so unintelligent as to create a military problem with Iran. They know the strength of Iran and Hezbollah,” he added.
Hezbollah, like Hamas and the Shiite Houthis in Yemen, remain well-supported by the Iranian regime. Because of the aforementioned realities, the United States continues to apply Iran’s designation as a state-sponsor of terror.
Last week, Israeli officials revealed to the New York Times that Hezbollah was employing guerilla tactics–moving its military apparatus into civilian territory–in order to better protect itself from the IDF, should the two sides engage in a coming war.
Israeli officials made their case by supplying sophisticated maps and photos as proof of Hezbollah’s movements into civilian areas. They told the Times that Israel reserves the right to defend itself, and that Hezbollah is ultimately responsible for civilian deaths if its forces decide to use human shields as cover for strikes on Israeli territory.