A high-ranking Iranian military official has warned that there will "definitely" be a response to the assassination of Ismail Haniyeh, saying that Iran will make a meticulous plan over how it will retaliate for the killing of the late Hamas leader in Tehran in July.
Deputy Chief of the Iranian Army for Coordination Habibollah Sayyari recently visited Beijing to attend the 11th Xiangshan Forum, a high-level security and defense forum that took place from Sept. 12 to 14 in the Chinese capital.
Speaking in an interview with China Media Group (CMG), Sayyari highlighted the progress Iran has made in its defense sector since the Islamic Revolution in 1979 despite Western sanctions, as well as its steadfast opposition to the meddling of outside forces in the regional issues of the Middle East.
"Before Iran's victory of the Islamic Revolution, our military talents, including those from the army, navy and air force, were mostly trained in the West. But nowadays, we train them at home all by ourselves. Before the Islamic Revolution, the equipment of our army, navy and air force mainly came from the West, but today it is a totally different situation. We have made significant strides in military equipment manufacturing. Therefore, today's Iran can completely rely on its domestically produced weapons and our weapons system has also become a lot more diversified. We have said many times that we, together with other countries in the region, are capable of maintaining regional security, and that there is no need for other countries from thousands of miles away to step in for no reason. Those nations from outside the region that poke their noses in our regional security affairs should understand that their arrival only brings chaos, instead of peace," he said.
Sayyari mentioned Iran's April 14 operation against Israeli military targets in response to the latter's attacks on the Iranian diplomatic mission in Syria and Israel's July 31 assassination of Haniyeh, who was attending the swearing-in ceremony of Iran's newly elected president in Tehran.
Haniyeh was one of the highest-ranking Hamas leaders killed since the latest round of Israeli-Palestinian conflict erupted on Oct 7, 2023.
"We conducted our punishment strikes dubbed 'Operation True Promise'. Like I said, it was merely to demonstrate Iran's ability to inflict harm on Israel. What couldn't be missed was that America, France, Germany, Britain and Jordan activated their air defense systems to back up Israel's Iron Dome system, as a response to Iran's retaliation. The question, however, is whether they will always be prepared to react to Iran's every move. They can't. In the same vein, we will not announce in advance our retaliatory actions for Haniyeh's assassination. Since the assassination, the America-led West has sent us a message hoping that Iran would not take any retaliatory action. But there will definitely be a response to Haniyeh's assassination from us. It is just up to us to decide when that is going to happen, and we will make sure that our response is meticulously and well planned," Sayyari said.
The Iranian military official also shared his experience of fighting in the Iran-Iraq war, which broke out in September 1980 and lasted through August 1988, saying that platforms like the Xiangshan Forum are needed for countries to hold dialog and avert conflicts.
"I fought in the eight-year war between Iran and Iraq and got wounded. I was caught by bullets five times and had to have some of my organ parts removed. War is never good. I believe that it is of great importance that we understand where the other countries stand and work jointly toward the same goals through this forum. This forum held with the theme 'Promoting Peace for a Shared Future' will open up new prospects for future security cooperation," he said.
Iran planning to“definitely respond" to Haniyeh assassination: army official
