Special to WorldTribune.com

A senior Iranian Revolutionary Guard (IRGC) commander said that Iran will continue to upgrade its military might with the ultimate goal of annihilating Israel and freeing the Palestinians.

“They (the U.S. and Israel) should know that the Islamic Revolution will continue enhancing its preparedness until it overthrows Israel and liberates Palestine,” Iran’s Fars News Agency quoted Brigadier General Mohsen Kazzemeini as saying on Sept. 2. Kazzemeini is the IRGC’s top commander in the Teheran Province.

“We will continue defending not just our own country, but also all the oppressed people of the world, especially those countries that are standing on the forefront of confrontation with the Zionists,” he said.

Meanwhile, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said during a visit to Tunisia on Sept. 1 that Teheran will cooperate with other nations against Israel.

“We are ready to cooperate with all friends that believe in the necessity of forming a united front against the Zionist enemy and against divisive attempts,” Zarif said in a meeting with Rashid al-Ghannushi, leader of Tunisia’s main Islamic party.

The continued hostile rhetoric toward Israel and the United States is seen as Iran’s attempt to put to rest speculation that the recently signed nuclear deal with world powers would spell a change in the Islamic Republic’s policy toward Israel.

British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond said after reopening the British Embassy in Teheran that the current Iranian government had displayed a more nuanced approach than its predecessor to the conflict with Israel.

The Iranian Parliament Speaker’s Adviser for International Affairs, Hossein Sheikholeslam, rejected that notion: “Our positions against the usurper Zionist regime have not changed at all; Israel should be annihilated and this is our ultimate slogan.”

  Brigadier General Mohsen Kazzemeini, IRGC commander: Iran will build military until Israel defeated, Palestinians free, WorldTribune.com