Iranian Military Leaders Admonish U.S. of Consequences of War

June 23, 2019—Iranian military leaders are warning the U.S. against the consequences of launching a war on Iran. Maj. Gen. Gholamali Rashid, commander of the IRGC’s Khatam al-Anbiya Headquarters, speaking to IRGC Aerospace Force commanders, made clear to the Trump Administration that it “should behave in a responsible way to protect the lives of American forces.” This plays on the well-known Pentagon fears for the security of U.S. forces in the region should there be a war. Rashid said if war breaks out, the scope and duration of the conflict would be uncontrollable, and blamed any escalation on “U.S. interventionist policy.”

Brig. Gen. Abolfazl Shekarchi, spokesman for the General Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces, told Tasnim in an interview that Iran will never be the first side to start a war, but the enemy’s slightest mistake will draw a revolutionary response from Iran in West and Central Asia from which the attackers would not survive. “Threat for threat means that if the enemy fires a single bullet at us, it will receive 10 bullets and have to pay a heavy cost,” he stated, warning that any act of aggression against Iran will draw such a “historic response” that would make the assailants regret their move.

The Iranian Armed Forces are closely monitoring the U.S. moves, General Shekarchi said, and went on: “A military mistake from the enemy, particularly from the U.S. and its regional allies, will be tantamount to firing at a powder keg on which are the U.S. and its interests, and it will set the region ablaze and burn up the U.S., its interests, and its allies.”