Iran ready for 'decisive battle' with U.S. and Israel, says army chief

Haaretz

Iran's Chief of Staff, General Hassan Firouzabadi, said Wednesday that Iran is ready for a "decisive battle" with the U.S. and Israel, and dismissed threats against Tehran as "political bluffing."

“We are ready for the decisive battle against the U.S. and the Zionist regime,” the commander said, according to Iran's semi-official Fars news agency.

“If any war is launched against Iran, we won’t give any ground to the enemy and they themselves know this very well," he said. According to Fars, he stressed that Tehran has made sure it is prepared for this "battle" against Washington and Tel Aviv by "staging different war games."

Iran's enemies have been preparing themselves to invade Iran, Fars cited the commander as saying, "They even moved their troops to the region, but eventually came to the conclusion that they lack the ability (to wage war on Iran) and left the region," he said.

He went on to describe U.S. and Israeli threats against Iran as "just political bluffing."

"Yet," he continued, "We warn that if an attack is launched on our troops from any territory, we will invade all the positions of the enemy."

“If we are targeted from the U.S. bases in the region, we will hit those bases," he said.

On Saturday, Fars reported that Iranian warships were "approaching the U.S. maritime borders." The move was reportedly meant to send "a message" to the Obama Administration.

The Pentagon said on Monday it was unconcerned by the announcement, noting that lots of countries operated in international waters in the Atlantic.

The Pentagon has no information the ships are approaching the Atlantic yet, spokesman Colonel Steve Warren said, adding that "to our knowledge, this is an announcement only at this point."

"We are not concerned about their announcement to send ships into the Atlantic. As I said earlier, freedom of the seas applies to every nation," Warren said.

He said if Iranian ships do head into the Atlantic, "they should not be surprised to find many other navies also sailing in the Atlantic."