IRAN’S supreme leader has stoked fears of an all-out war breaking out in the Middle East as he vowed to “punish” Israel.
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei branded Israel an “evil regime” as he warned a revenge strike is looming.
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Iran has accused Israel of being behind a deadly blitz on its consulate in the Syrian capital Damascus that killed several of its top commanders.
General Mohammad Reza Zahedi died alongside six senior members of Iran’s twisted terrorist army, the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps.
Khamenei has now promised to unleash revenge on what he calls the “Zionist regime”.
He said: “When they attack the consulate, it is as if they have attacked on our soil.
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“The evil regime made a mistake and must be punished, and will be punished.”
Since the suspected Israeli bombing left at least 12 dead – Iran has been spewing increasingly potent verbal threats at its greatest foe.
Snarling Tehran President Ebrahim Rasi previously said Israel’s alleged blast “will not go unanswered”.
And thousands of Iranians have taken to the streets to burn Israeli and US flags while screaming “death” to them both in a display of fury over the embassy airstrike.
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President Netanyahu‘s war cabinet has been locked in crunch meetings over fears that Iran will launch an assault.
Israel said last week it was strengthening its defences and pausing leave for combat units following Iran’s retaliation threats.
Iran does not recognise Israel, and the two countries have fought a shadow war for years.
In the six months since war broke out between Hamas and Israel, Iranian terror proxies have wreaked havoc in their attempts to attack Israel.
However, experts told The Sun that retaliation by Iran itself rather than behind the cloak of one of its proxies would spark a global war.
But Israeli foreign minister Israel Katz has insisted Israel will attack Iran should it carry out strikes.
He said: “If Iran attacks from its territory, Israel will respond and attack Iran.”
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A Western security official revealed Israel will respond to any attacks by striking Iran’s nuclear targets directly.
Iran is home to several nuclear sites – including power plants, uranium mines and research reactors.
A targeted attack against one of them could mark an unprecedented escalation in the melting pot of Middle East conflict.
It is unclear how Iran would respond to an attack on its nuclear sites or whether either country would resort to dispatching nuclear weapons.
Just days ago, Iran published a chilling graphic showing nine different types of missiles it possessed that are capable of reaching Israel.
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Some can fly at a top speed of 560mph, but most of Tehran’s terror collection can reach a range of 1242 miles.
Source: Sun
