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IRGC Announces Readiness to Bomb Haifa if ‘Necessary’

Deputy Commander of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, Ali Fadavi (Fars)
Deputy Commander of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, Ali Fadavi (Fars)
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IRGC Announces Readiness to Bomb Haifa if ‘Necessary’

Deputy Commander of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, Ali Fadavi (Fars)
Deputy Commander of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, Ali Fadavi (Fars)

Deputy Commander of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, Ali Fadavi, said that his forces are ready to bomb Haifa in occupied Palestine with missiles if necessary.

For his part, Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian reassured the leaders of the Hamas and Islamic Jihad movements of continued Iranian support, at a time when Iranian political activists criticized their government’s policy of shaking regional stability.

Tasmin Agency, which is affiliated with the IRGC, quoted Fadavi as telling a group of Tehran University students: “Some of you see practical action as a direct missile strike on Haifa. Of course, if necessary, this will be done without hesitation.”

He implicitly referred to the United States’ announcement that it shot down missiles launched by the pro-Iranian Houthi group in the Red Sea, saying that missiles with a range of two thousand kilometers were launched.

Iran warned Israel, in a message through the United Nations on Oct. 14, that it would intervene if the military operation in Gaza continued.

Abdollahian made two separate phone calls on Monday evening to the head of the Hamas political bureau, Ismail Haniyeh, and Ziad Nakhalah, the Secretary-General of Islamic Jihad.

In a statement, the Iranian Foreign Ministry said that Abdollahian briefed the leaders of Hamas and Islamic Jihad on “the latest Iranian diplomatic measures and movements at the international level”. He stressed “the necessity of stopping the killing of civilians in the Gaza Strip, including women and children, as well as opening the Rafah crossing, sending humanitarian aid to the people of Gaza, and confronting their forced displacement.”

Reuters quoted a Hamas statement as saying that Haniyeh received a phone call from Abdollahian, and they discussed ways to stop “Israeli brutal crimes” in the Gaza Strip.

Haniyeh, for his part, warned of a major humanitarian catastrophe in the Gaza Strip due to the shortage of medicines and the breakdown of electricity generators in hospitals.

Iranian security officials told Reuters that Iran’s strategy is for its proxies in the Middle East, such as Hezbollah, to launch limited attacks on Israeli and US targets while avoiding a major escalation that would drag Tehran into the conflict.

Iranians fear serious repercussions of the war between Hamas and Israel on the Iranian interior, including a direct military confrontation between Tel Aviv and Tehran.

A group of Iranian political activists from across the political spectrum issued a statement condemning calls for a military attack on Iran.

The statement criticized Iran’s “defense of fundamentalist and extremist groups,” including Hamas, Hezbollah, and Islamic Jihad, saying that Iran’s “policies of inciting tension and proxy wars” constitute a threat to security and peace.
 

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Britain is on Alert for Further Unrest Even after Anti-Racism Campaigners Faced Down the Far Right

FILE PHOTO: Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer delivers a speech during a press conference, following clashes after the Southport stabbing, at 10 Downing street in central London, Britain, August 1, 2024. Henry Nicholls/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer delivers a speech during a press conference, following clashes after the Southport stabbing, at 10 Downing street in central London, Britain, August 1, 2024. Henry Nicholls/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo
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Britain is on Alert for Further Unrest Even after Anti-Racism Campaigners Faced Down the Far Right

FILE PHOTO: Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer delivers a speech during a press conference, following clashes after the Southport stabbing, at 10 Downing street in central London, Britain, August 1, 2024. Henry Nicholls/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer delivers a speech during a press conference, following clashes after the Southport stabbing, at 10 Downing street in central London, Britain, August 1, 2024. Henry Nicholls/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo

British authorities said Thursday they were preparing for the possibility of further unrest, even as they applauded the efforts of anti-racism campaigners and police officers who largely stifled a threatened wave of far-right demonstrations overnight.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer sounded the note of caution after a week of anti-immigrant violence that has scarred communities from Northern Ireland to the south coast of England. Starmer spoke to reporters at a mosque in Solihull, near Birmingham, where demonstrators shut down a shopping center on Sunda, The Associated Press said.
“It’s important that we don’t let up here,” Starmer said.
At an emergency meeting with law enforcement officers at his office, Starmer said on Thursday evening that police need to remain on “high alert,” Britain’s Press Association reported. He credited strategic police staffing and swift justice for rioters in the courts for creating a deterrent that kept trouble at a minimum the night before.
Police across the United Kingdom had braced for widespread disorder on Wednesday, after far-right activists circulated a list of more than 100 sites they planned to target, including the offices of immigration lawyers and others offering services to migrants.
But those demonstrations failed to materialize as police and counter-protesters filled the streets.
Carrying signs saying “Refugees Welcome” and chanting “Whose streets? Our streets,” people turned out in force to protect asylum service centers and the offices of immigration attorneys.
The government also declared a national critical incident, putting 6,000 specially trained police on standby to respond to any disorder. Police said that protests and counter-protests were largely peaceful, though a small number of arrests were made.
“The show of force from the police and, frankly, the show of unity from communities together defeated the challenges that we faced,” said Commissioner Mark Rowley, the head of London’s Metropolitan Police Service. “It went off very peacefully last night, and the fears of extreme right disorder were abated.”
But tensions remain high after right-wing agitators fueled the violence by circulating misinformation about the identity of the suspect in a knife attack that killed three young girls in the English seaside town of Southport last week. The last child hospitalized in the July 29 stabbing has been released, police said Thursday.
Nearly 500 people have been arrested around the country after anti-immigrant mobs clashed with police, attacked mosques and overran two hotels housing asylum-seekers. Among them was a man in his 50s, arrested on suspicion of “encouraging murder.” The arrest came after a local Labor councilor allegedly called for far-right protesters’ throats to be “cut.''
The Labor Party suspended Ricky Jones, who is alleged to have made the remark at a London demonstration Wednesday.
The government has pledged to track down and prosecute those responsible for the disorder, including people who incite violence online.
In an effort to dissuade people from taking part in future unrest by showing that rioters will face swift justice, TV cameras were allowed into Liverpool Crown Court on Thursday as Judge Andrew Menary sentenced two men to 32 months in prison.
During the hearing, prosecutors played video of rioters pelting police with bricks and setting garbage cans on fire. One of the suspects was in the middle of a group that ripped the bumper off a police vehicle and threw it at officers as onlookers cheered.
“It seems to me there were hundreds of people observing, as if this was some sort of Tuesday night entertainment,” Menary said. “All of them should be frankly ashamed of themselves.”
Northern Ireland’s regional legislative assembly convened Thursday to respond to the unrest. Minister for Justice Naomi Long said the violence and racist attacks in recent days were “not reflective” of the people of Northern Ireland.
The government is also considering imposing sanctions other than jail time, including banning rioters from soccer matches. Home Office minister Diana Johnson told LBC Radio that there should be consequences for those implicated in disorder.
“I think all options are being looked at, to be honest, and I am pretty clear that most football clubs do not want to be seen to have football hooligans and people carrying out criminal acts on the streets of the local communities in their stands on a Saturday,″ she said.