FILE PHOTO: A gas flare on an oil production platform in the Soroush oil fields is seen alongside an Iranian flag in the Persian Gulf, Iran, July 25, 2005. REUTERS/Raheb Homavandi/File Photo/File Photo A high-ranking Iranian general said in a Dec. 28 interview that “Israel must be destroyed and wiped out.”
The Times of Israel reports that Brig. Gen. Mohammad Reza Naqdi made the aforementioned comments Al Nubja, an Iraqi television station.
“Israel must be destroyed and wiped out,” Naqdi said. “There is no doubt that the Zionists must be annihilated and destroyed. This will definitely happen.”
Naqdi repeatedly stated that this continues to be Iran’s chief goal, and that the regime in Tehran has no fear of being attacked by the United States or Saudi Arabia.
“America will not launch a war against Iran,” Naqdi said. “If it does — a possibility that I rule out — we will destroy all its military bases in the region.”
Naqdi’s comments, which were translated on Wednesday Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI), come as Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced on Friday that the United States will be hosting a conference with foreign ministers in Warsaw from Feb. 13-14 to discuss the issue of Iran.
“We’ll bring together dozens of countries from all around the world,” Pompeo told Fox News. “Countries will all come together to focus on Middle East stability and peace and freedom and security here in this region, and that includes an important element of making sure that Iran is not a destabilizing influence.”
Among the attendees of the forum will be foreign ministers from Bahrain, Egypt, Jordan, Morocco, Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is currently serving as Israel’s defense minister, has been invited to the conference but has not said if he is attending or not.
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