Israel, Iran conflict would trigger ‘third world war,’ Iranian general warns
Gen. Amir Ali Hajizadeh of Iran’s aerospace division said on state TV that if Israel attacked, it would trigger WWIII.
Iran would retaliate against US bases regardless of its involvement should Israel attack Iranian nuclear facilities, a high-ranking Revolutionary Guard general warned today.
Gen. Amir Ali Hajizadeh of Iran’s aerospace division said on state TV that if Israel attacked, it would trigger WWIII.
“We see the US and the Zionist (Israel) regime standing fully on the side of each other and we cannot imagine the Zionist regime initiating a war without the US backup,” Hajizadeh said, according to the FARS News Agency.
“Due to the same reason, if a war breaks out, we will definitely wage battle on both sides and will definitely be engaged with the US bases.
“In case such conditions arise, a series of incidents will take place which will not be controllable and manageable and such a war might turn into a third world war.”
Similar comments have come from Iran in recent weeks, The Jerusalem Post reported.
Iran’s nuclear program is at the center of the rhetoric.
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Israel, the US and their western allies believe Iran is attempting to build nuclear weapons, while Iran says its reactors produce energy and medical isotopes.
Israel has threatened to strike the nuclear power plants regardless of US willingness to get involved.
Should that happen, the general said, Iran would target US bases in the Middle East.
“It’s impossible to imagine an independent war between Iran and the US or the Zionist Regime [Israel],” Hajizadeh said, according to the Post.
US military bases in Afghanistan, Bahrain and Qatar are all within Iran’s reach, the general said.
According to The Associated Press, the US Fifth Fleet is based in Bahrain.
Hajizadeh’s appearance on Al-Alam TV is intended for the entire Middle East, the AP said.
“There will be no neutral country in the region,” Hajizadeh said, according to the AP. “To us, these bases are equal to US soil.”
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