The commander of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard's aerospace forces, Amir Ali Hajizadeh, on Thursday said that Israel was "doomed to disappear" and that any action by Israel against the Islamic Republic would hasten that disappearance.
Speaking at a ceremony in Tehran and quoted by i24NEWS, Hajizadeh mocked Israel for being "the only regime in the world arguing over how to survive."
"The (Zionist) regime that argues about its existence is doomed to extinction and cannot talk about the destruction of other countries," Hajizadeh added.
The comments came two days after IDF Chief of Staff Aviv Kochavi said, "The IDF is accelerating its military plants to handle Iran."
On the same day, Defense Minister Benny Gantz said that Israel would carry out operations "never seen in the past" if a regional war were to break out.
Hajizadeh responded to those remarks and said that Israel "may be able to start a battle, but it is the Islamic Republic that will end it by putting an end to the Zionist regime. If the latter gives an excuse to the Islamic Republic, it will only accelerate its end."
Iranian officials regularly threaten Israel, including its Foreign Minister, Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, who recently spoke at the United Nations Durban IV conference, where he said his nation’s "willpower is dedicated" to the elimination of Zionism.
In September, Iranian Defense Minister Mohammad Reza Ashtiani warned Israel that "any unwise and stupid measure will trigger a crushing response from Iran that would inflict heavy costs on the aggressor."