Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Vows US, Israel’s Demise

Commander of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) Maj. Gen. Hossein Salami speaks at Sunday's rally in Tehran. (AFP)
Commander of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) Maj. Gen. Hossein Salami speaks at Sunday's rally in Tehran. (AFP)
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Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Vows US, Israel’s Demise

Commander of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) Maj. Gen. Hossein Salami speaks at Sunday's rally in Tehran. (AFP)
Commander of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) Maj. Gen. Hossein Salami speaks at Sunday's rally in Tehran. (AFP)

Commander of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) Maj. Gen. Hossein Salami declared on Sunday that the United States and its ally Israel were on their way to their demise if they did not change their behavior.

He vowed that the “resistance front” and Iran will do everything they can to confront Israel.

He was speaking at a rally of hundreds of Iranians in central Tehran marking the 45th anniversary of the raid on the US embassy in Iran and hostage taking of its diplomats and staff in 1979.

Salami slammed the US for supporting Israel, saying they cannot “survive without the killing of Muslims and carrying out massacres against them.”

He warned Washington and Tel Aviv that the “Islamic resistance will deal the evil front a harsh response,” reported ISNA state news agency.

Despite its talk of democracy, freedom and human rights, the US is the source of unrest, crime and occupations in the world, he went on to say.

The US is not content with its own geographic borders but believes that the entire world is within its influence, and it wants to control the political will of peoples through wars, occupation and assaults, he declared.

Moreover, he blamed the US for the emergence of extremist groups, such as ISIS. “For 45 years, the US has turned the Islamic world into a war zone. It has sought to subjugate the free people in the name of freedom,” he alleged.

“The US brought backwardness and instability to Iraq and quit Afghanistan after 20 years of occupation and a cost of 85 billion dollars,” he added.

Furthermore, Salami dismissed Washington’s ability to confront Iran, saying it has failed in its “soft war against it and its political influence is waning. It is no longer capable of imposing its will or achieving victories the way it used to.”

On Lebanon, he stressed that Hezbollah “was still strong in spite of all Zionist attempts to weaken it.”

“Hezbollah will not make do with not being defeated, but it will seek to bury the Zionist regime and its followers in southern Lebanon and occupied Palestine,” he stated.

“Israel will inevitably meet its end,” he vowed.

Demonstrators at the rally in front of the former US embassy in Tehran carried Iranian, Palestinian and Hezbollah flags. Many carried banners reading “death to America” and “death to Israel” in both Persian and English and some burned Israeli and American flags.



Ukraine’s Zelenskiy Names New Land Forces Chief, Says Changes Needed

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskiy attends a joint press conference with Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen (not pictured), amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine, November 19, 2024. (Reuters)
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskiy attends a joint press conference with Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen (not pictured), amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine, November 19, 2024. (Reuters)
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Ukraine’s Zelenskiy Names New Land Forces Chief, Says Changes Needed

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskiy attends a joint press conference with Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen (not pictured), amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine, November 19, 2024. (Reuters)
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskiy attends a joint press conference with Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen (not pictured), amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine, November 19, 2024. (Reuters)

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy replaced the commander of the military's land forces on Friday, putting Major General Mykhailo Drapatyi in charge, as Russia notches up gains in the east and Kyiv's troops face manpower shortages.

Zelenskiy said "internal changes" were needed as he announced the 42-year-old would replace Lieutenant General Oleksandr Pavliuk, who took the helm of the land forces in a major shake-up in February 2024.

"The main task is to increase noticeably the combat efficiency of our army, ensure the quality of servicemen training, and introduce innovative approaches to people management in Ukraine's Armed Forces," Zelenskiy said.

"The Ukrainian army needs internal changes to achieve our state's goals in full," he said on Telegram after meeting his top military and government officials.

Drapatyi is well respected in the army and military analysts praised his appointment. Drapatyi took command of the Kharkiv front in May and managed to stop the Russian offensive in the northeast, stabilizing the front.

Zelenskiy also said that he appointed Colonel Oleh Apostol, commander of the 95th separate air-assault brigade, as a deputy to army chief Oleksandr Syrskyi.

He praised both Drapatyi and Apostol, saying "they had proved their efficiency on the battlefield".

Ukraine is on the back foot on the battlefield as it fights a much bigger and better-equipped enemy 33 months after Russia's full-scale invasion in February 2022.

The Russian forces are steadily advancing in the eastern Donetsk region. Syrskyi, the army chief, said on Friday he would strengthen troops deployed on the eastern front with reserves, ammunition, and equipment as he visited two key Ukrainian-held sites in the Donetsk region.

Ukraine has also lost about 40% of the territory it captured in Russia's Kursk region in a surprise incursion in August, as Russian forces have mounted waves of counter-assaults.

The head of the land forces oversees mobilization efforts during the war.

Military analysts say Ukraine's military is experiencing manpower shortages, making it harder to rotate troops out of the more than 1,000 kilometers (620 miles) of frontline or to build up reserve forces.