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In a recent TV interview, IRGC Deputy Commander Hossein Salami treatened retaliation for the Quneitra attack, saying that the IRGC and Hizbullah "leave no attack without retaliation and revenge." On another issue, he said that "the very existence of the Zionist entity and its collapse" are ""far more significant than the nuclear issue." Salami was speaking on the Iranian Al-Alam TV, in an interview that aired on January 25, 2015.
Following are excerpts:
Hossein Salami: Today, unlike in the past, all of occupied Palestine - in other words, all the areas in which the Zionists live - are within firing range of the Jihadi resistance in Palestine, and the Lebanese Hizbullah. No area under Zionist rule is beyond the range of Hizbullah and of the Jihadi resistance in Palestine.
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[The Quneitra attack] is an indication of a new reality. First of all, [Israel] is heading towards its elimination. Such operations, lacking any strategic or tactical logic, show that their strategic capabilities have been exhausted, and that they are about to lose their power and influence in the region. The result of all this bears clear meaning to us. Secondly, such operations motivate resistance and revenge. They nurture such motivation and lead us to new assumptions, and to take new measures in order to execute large-scale revenge for this. As was mentioned in the IRGC statement, the IRGC and Hizbullah have proven in the past that they leave no attack without retaliation and revenge. You saw how at a certain phase, the Zionists would assassinate our nuclear scientists. But only the Zionists themselves know how we retaliated for that. We do not make any statements about this, but they know full well. After that, they stopped.
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The opening of a new front in the West Bank, which is considered a principle area of our beloved Palestine, will definitely be on our agenda. This is part of the new reality which I have talked about. As I have said, this reality will take shape gradually. In addition to opening a new front in the West Bank, we will definitely carry out a specific [act] of revenge for this attack.
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We cannot reveal how we will retaliate, but the retaliation will come, Allah willing.
Interviewer: Many observers say that this recent Israeli aggression could not have been carried out without coordination with the US...
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Hossein Salami: These two countries are considered a single political entity. The Americans work strategically for the benefit of the Israelis, and Israel is considered an inseparable part of the US policy in the region. Therefore, any action taken by the Israelis is rooted in American planning and strategy. We, on our part, do not distinguish between the two. All the aspects of our war with the Zionist entity and its strategic allies, and especially the United States, are interconnected. The proxy war that you witness today, between Iran and the forces of global arrogance, represented by the US, exemplifies this reality.
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Therefore, the battlefield of our strategic war with the US is an open one. We keep it open, just as they themselves left it open, with regard to the nuclear issue, the economic sanctions, the onslaught of [Western] culture, the inciting of internal strife, their psychological warfare, or even their support of the Zionist entity, and their efforts to curb the influence of the Iranian revolution in the region.
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This confrontation will continue until the US officially acknowledges the facts and realities of the Islamic world. The US must get out of the Islamic world, and acknowledge the need for peaceful coexistence, based on mutual respect and trust with the Islamic world. However, as long as they continue to use the Islamic world as the scene for their regional policies, all the forces of the Islamic world will undoubtedly be mobilized against them.
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The question of whether the nuclear talks succeed or fail is just one issue. There are countless other issues. The very existence of the Zionist entity and its collapse are of crucial importance. It is far more significant than the nuclear issue. Even if the nuclear issue is resolved, the Zionist entity will remain a central issue for us.
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