IRGC commander blasts Israel as "mad American dog", vows retaliation

Iran is prepared to counter any unfriendly actions from Israel, said the commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), Lieutenant General Hossein Salami.

Salami also mentioned that the Islamic Republic's missile strike on Israel on October 1 was an act of "blood revenge" for the assassination of the "leaders of the Islamic resistance," Caliber.Az reports via foreign media.

"We assure the noble and heroic people of Iran that we will continue to support the resistance front, especially in Lebanon and Palestine, and we will respond to any aggression by the enemies and the brutal [Israeli] regime, the mad American dog of the region, with strength, firmness, and determination," the IRGC press service quoted General Salami as saying.

Tehran considers various Muslim militant groups to be its regional allies, collectively referred to as the “Axis of Resistance”.

These include Lebanon's Hezbollah, the Palestinian Hamas, the Iraqi “Islamic Resistance”, and Yemen's Houthis.

Notably, Iran launched a significant missile strike against Israel on October 1, marking a dramatic escalation in the ongoing regional tensions. This follows weeks of intensifying violence across the Middle East.

The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) of Iran announced on October 2 that it had fired the missiles in retaliation for Israeli military operations in Gaza and Lebanon, as well as the recent assassinations of senior figures from the IRGC, Hamas, and Hezbollah.

Missile warning sirens echoed across Israel on October 2 evening as rockets targeted major cities and towns. Israel, with support from US, activated its defence systems, managing to intercept the majority of the nearly 200 projectiles fired by Iran.

The Israeli Defence Forces confirmed that only a "small number" of missiles struck central and southern areas of the country. Two civilians were reported injured by falling debris near Tel Aviv, according to the nation’s emergency services.  

By Aghakazim Guliyev