New threats from Iran’s IRGC Quds Force chief

IRGC Quds Force Commander Esmail Qaani threatened Israel on March 7. It is the latest threat by the Iranian regime and follows messaging from Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad that threaten to try to inflame tensions in the region in the next weeks.

Qaani directed his threats at Israel and other countries linked to Israel, a reference to the US apparently.

The IRGC Quds Force commander “stressed that the resistance front has yet to exhibit the maximum of its capabilities in terms of military and deterrent power,” Iranian pre-government Fars News media said.

Qaani also openly bragged that this is already a regional war in which the “regional resistance” is threatening Israel as a “front.” Iran has operationalized numerous fronts, including Hezbollah in Lebanon and the Houthis in Yemen. He spoke about an “integrated set that has a lot of capabilities and capacities”.

This is vague, but it clearly refers to the goal of Iran to unite the “arenas” against Israel. This refers to Gaza, the West Bank, Yemen, Lebanon, Iraq, Syria and other places. Qaani hinted at “surprises.” This appears timed to coincide with the Ramadan holiday.

Ramadan ceasefire

While Western countries want a ceasefire for Ramadan, Iran and its proxies are preparing for a possible regional offensive during the holiday. Iran’s Fars News said that “in early October, Hamas launched a multi-pronged surprise operation via land, sea and air.” The report noted that Iran killed 1,200 people.

The Iranian media said that “resistance groups across the region, from across Iraq and Lebanon to Yemen, have posed a serious challenge to the regime by striking the occupied territories as well as Israeli-linked vessels with hundreds of rockets, missiles and drones.” The word “resistance” is used by Iran to speak about attacks across the region.

For instance, Hezbollah in Lebanon recently killed an agricultural worker in an attack. The Houthis attacked a ship and killed two crew. These are murderous attacks targeting the innocent but Iran calls it “resistance.” Pro-Hamas activists in the West also call it “resistance.” Qaani’s threats are worth taking seriously as Iran has proven time and again that it carries out its threats.