Guards commander warns opponents more prepared than ever
\n tehran
\nThe commander of Iran\u2019s Revolutionary Guards on Thursday warned Washington that the force had its \u201cfinger on the trigger\u201d in the wake of mass protests, as US President Donald Trump said the Islamic republic still appeared interested in talks.
\nTrump has repeatedly left open the option of new military action against Iran after Washington backed and joined Israel\u2019s 12-day war in June aimed at degrading Iranian nuclear and ballistics programmes.
\nA fortnight of protests starting in late December shook the clerical leadership under supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, but the movement has petered out in the face of a crackdown that activists say has left thousands dead, accompanied by an unprecedented internet blackout.
\nThe prospect of immediate American action against Tehran appears to have receded over the last week, with both sides insisting on giving diplomacy a chance even as US media report Trump is still studying options.
\nAddressing the World Economic Forum in Davos, Trump said the US struck Iranian uranium enrichment sites last year to prevent Tehran from making a nuclear weapon. Iran denies its nuclear programme is aimed at seeking the bomb.
\n\u201cCan\u2019t let that happen,\u201d he said, adding: \u201cAnd Iran does want to talk, and we\u2019ll talk.\u201d
\nIn a standoff marked by seesawing rhetoric, Trump had on Tuesday warned Iran\u2019s leaders the US would \u201cwipe them off the face of this earth\u201d if there was any attack on his life in response to a strike targeting Khamenei.
\n\u2018Legitimate targets\u2019
\nGuards commander General Mohammad Pakpour warned Israel and the United States \u201cto avoid any miscalculations, by learning from historical experiences and what they learned in the 12-day imposed war, so that they do not face a more painful and regrettable fate\u201d.
\n\u201cThe Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and dear Iran have their finger on the trigger, more prepared than ever, ready to carry out the orders and measures of the supreme commander-in-chief \u2014 a leader dearer than their own lives,\u201d he said, referring to Khamenei.
\nHis comments came in a written statement quoted by state television marking the national day in Iran to celebrate the Guards, a force whose mission is to protect the 1979 Islamic revolution from internal and external threats.
\nActivists accuse the Guards of playing a frontline role in the deadly crackdown on protests. The group is sanctioned as a terrorist entity by countries including Australia, Canada and the United States, and campaigners have long urged similar moves from the EU and UK.
\nPakpour took over as Guards commander last year after his predecessor Hossein Salami was one of several key military figures killed in an Israeli strike during the 12-day war, losses which revealed Israel\u00b4s deep intelligence penetration of the Islamic republic.
\nAnother senior military figure, General Ali Abdollahi Aliabadi who leads the Iranian joint command headquarters, meanwhile warned that in the case of an attack by the United States, \u201call US interests, bases and centres of influence\u201d would be \u201clegitimate targets\u201d for the Iranian armed forces.
\nForeign Minister Abbas Araghchi \u2014 in an eye-catching opinion piece published Tuesday in the Wall Street Journal \u2014 said Iran would not hold back if attacked but added it had \u201calways been ready for real and serious negotiations\u201d.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Guards commander warns opponents more prepared than ever tehran The commander of Iran\u2019s Revolutionary Guards on Thursday warned Washington that the force had its \u201cfinger on the trigger\u201d in the wake of mass protests, as US President Donald Trump said the Islamic republic still appeared interested in talks. Trump has repeatedly left open the option […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":527128,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-527103","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n