IRGC Deputy Commander Hossein Salami: We Have Denied Our Enemy Any Military Option

In a November 29, 2014 interview with Iran's Channel 1 TV, IRGC Deputy Commander Hossein Salami said: "We have denied our enemy any military option." He further said: "We have created an invincible balance of deterrence vis-à-vis the enemy."

Following are excerpts from an interview with IRGC Deputy Commander Hossein Salami, which aired on Channel 1, Iranian TV on November 29, 2014:

Hossein Salami: Our ground-to-ground missiles are capable of reaching enemy targets thousands of kilometers away. They are able to deal deadly blows of various magnitudes to our enemies. Our land-to-sea missiles are capable of reaching naval targets deep in the sea. Our radars are able to detect enemy satellites. Our drones are able to track enemy movements thousands of kilometers beyond our borders. Our helicopters can fly, and our cannons can fire.

Interviewer: Are you talking about scientific or military [uses]?

Hossein Salami: Both. Moreover, our satellite in space can see tiny objects on the ground. They can send us photographs and connect us to the entire world. The Basij have succeeded in breaking through to space. They have managed to penetrate the tiny world of the atom. They have brought us into the club of countries with peaceful nuclear energy.

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We have denied our enemy any military option. The enemy can no longer even think about a military option. When senior U.S. officials use the term "military option," it is only for psychology purposes. It is an outdated bluff. It is a banal and decayed theory. To use the Americans' own words, it is "political decay."

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The Americans believe that their economic sanctions have had an effect on our people or on our economy. They believe that they can take their time, wear us down in negotiations, and continue the sanctions. That way, they hope to bring our people to despair, and to lead to political defeat [in the negotiations]. We can and must throw these beliefs into the garbage-can of history.

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We created a balance [of deterrence] vis- à-via our great enemies in the arena. We have blocked the enemy's military means of operation. We have created an invincible balance of deterrence vis- à-via the enemy.

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There is no doubt that the Palestinians in the West Bank, who have been harmed by Zionist injustice more than the Gazans, and who face Zionist aggression on a daily basis, will not relinquish their desire [for a state]. I am sure that the day will come – and that day is not far off – when the West Bank will become a living hell for the security of the Zionists. We shall see the day when the children of the West Bank and Gaza will hold hands. Allah willing, that day is near.

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Saying that the Iranian RQ-170 drone is a media lie is, in itself, a media lie. The Iranian RQ-170 is real, and willing, the people will see it fly again. Allah willing, one day we will invite the people to have fun touching the drone and to watch it taking off and landing.

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