IRGC chief: Israel to face ‘crushing response’ for acts of terror in Lebanon

The chief commander of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) says Israel will face “a crushing response from the axis of resistance” for its acts of terror in Lebanon which are the result of the regime’s despair. 

In a letter to Hezbollah head Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah on Thursday, Major General Hossein Salami condemned “the terrorist crime of the occupying regime, which resulted in the martyrdom and mass injury of beloved Lebanese nationals and Hezbollah fighters”.

“I declare that such terrorist acts, that are undoubtedly due to the desperation and successive failures of the Zionist regime, will soon be met with a crushing response from the resistance front and we will witness complete destruction of this cruel and criminal regime,” he said.

Gen. Salami praised Nasrallah and Hezbollah resistance fighters as well as the Lebanese nation for supporting the Palestinians in their struggle against the Israeli occupation.

“Almighty God has granted this special blessing to Your Excellency and the resistance fighters and the great people of Lebanon to come to the field with body, soul and the soul of your loved ones without a moment’s delay to defend the oppressed of Palestine, especially the great men and women of Gaza and turn the scene of the disgraceful and beastly crime of the disgraced Zionists into a fragrant flower garden of resistance, success and victory of God’s dignified men,” he wrote.

Gen. Salami touched on Hezbollah’s operations over the past year, especially Operation Arbaeen Day last month in response to Israel’s assassination of top military commander Fuad Shukr, saying they have shaken the security, intelligence and military bases of  the “treacherous and usurping regime”.

“The enemy, incapable of face-to-face confrontation, commits crimes behind the front line and magnifies the achievement of the crime in order to delay its demise and hide the scandal of its successive defeats from the world.

“This itself is a new big defeat and God is ever on the watch for criminals,” he added, citing Verse 14 of Chapter 89 in the Qur’an.

He said IRGC servicemen, together with the great Iranian nation, laud the numerous sacrifices made by Hezbollah fighters, pay homage to the victims of recent device explosions in Lebanon, offer condolences to their families, and pray for the quick recovery of the injured.

Gen. Salami said Israel has not achieved any of its goals in Gaza after nearly a year of war and resorting to all kinds of crimes, despite the “ignorant and unwavering support of the Western governments”.

“The humiliated enemy which is under the daily strikes of the resistance in the center, north, east and south and besieged will get nowhere with the new massive terrorist attacks on Tuesday and Wednesday using pagers and electronic systems against women, men and children of Lebanon.”

The Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor has denounced the detonation of pagers and wireless devices in Lebanon, saying it is a blatant violation of international law.

The organization said the attack did not only target Hezbollah members but also indiscriminately exploded devices used by civilians.

The timing of the attack indicates that Israel did not take necessary precautions, as it occurred when device users were at home with their families, leading to numerous severe civilian injuries, including children, it said.