Tehran's military has already acquitted itself well in the struggle against Israel, Major General Hossein Salami has said

Iran will not bow to the pressure of foreign nations and is ready to respond to any kind of aggression, Major General Hossein Salami, chief commander of the elite Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), has said.

Speaking during a meeting with senior IRGC commanders on Saturday, Salami said that Iran is "absolutely not concerned about a war. We will not initiate a war but are ready for any war." He added that Iran has developed strategies to overcome any adversary and to repel psychological operations and direct military attacks alike. "However, we will not take a single step back in the face of the enemy," Salami stressed.

He noted that an Israeli attack on Tehran's consulate in Syria in April 2024, which left several senior Iranian military officers dead, marked the beginning of "a global confrontation" in the Middle East.

According to Salami, the Iranian retaliatory strike, which involved hundreds of missiles and drones, managed to overcome what he called "the most fortified airspace in history." "Our missiles penetrated their illusions of security," the general said, referring to Israel.

West Jerusalem, however, said at the time that the raid only resulted in minor damage to some of its military installations.
Salami noted that Israel is still vulnerable to Iran's military capabilities. "We have acquired the knowhow and formulas to overcome this enemy and have incorporated them into all elements of our weaponry and equipment," he remarked.

The general's comments come as the conflict in Gaza rages on and amid continued between the US and Iran. In late March, Secretary of State Marco Rubio warned that Washington could "take action" to prevent Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon. "We have the ability to do that and to go further, perhaps even threaten the regime," he said.

At the same time, the US urged Iran to renew talks over restoring the 2015 nuclear deal that Washington unilaterally withdrew from three years afterward. Trump claimed in his first administration that it did little to deter Tehran from getting a nuclear weapon. Iran has insisted that its nuclear program serves only peaceful purposes.