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.



Georgian Opposition Leader Arrested after Fourth Night of Protests

Protesters shoot fireworks toward police during a fourth day of nationwide protests against a government decision to shelve EU membership talks in Tbilisi early on December 2, 2024. (AFP)
Protesters shoot fireworks toward police during a fourth day of nationwide protests against a government decision to shelve EU membership talks in Tbilisi early on December 2, 2024. (AFP)
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Georgian Opposition Leader Arrested after Fourth Night of Protests

Protesters shoot fireworks toward police during a fourth day of nationwide protests against a government decision to shelve EU membership talks in Tbilisi early on December 2, 2024. (AFP)
Protesters shoot fireworks toward police during a fourth day of nationwide protests against a government decision to shelve EU membership talks in Tbilisi early on December 2, 2024. (AFP)

Georgian police arrested a prominent opposition leader early on Monday after using water cannon and tear gas to scatter anti-government protesters who rallied outside parliament for the fourth straight night.

The protests were sparked by the government's announcement last week that it was suspending talks on joining the European Union. Critics saw that as confirmation of a Russian-influenced shift away from pro-Western policies, something the ruling party denies.

The Coalition for Change, the country's largest opposition party, said in a post on X that Zurab Japaridze, one of its leaders, had been arrested by police whilst leaving the demonstration.

Footage showed Japaridze being placed in an unmarked vehicle by masked police. It was not clear if he would be charged with any offence.

The United States and the EU have voiced alarm at what they see as democratic backsliding by Georgia, a country of 3.7 million people that lies at the intersection of Europe and Asia and was once part of the Soviet Union.

Russia denies interfering in its neighbor, but former president Dmitry Medvedev warned on Sunday that Georgia was "moving rapidly along the Ukrainian path, into the dark abyss", adding: "Usually this sort of thing ends very badly."

On Sunday night, protesters gathered again in Tbilisi on the central Rustaveli Avenue. Some tossed fireworks at police, who responded with volleys of water cannon and tear gas.

"I'm here for a very simple reason, to defend my European future and the democracy of my country," one of the demonstrators, Nikoloz Miruashvili, said.

Police eventually ended the standoff by moving demonstrators away from the parliament building.

INJURY TOLL MOUNTS

Georgia's interior ministry said 21 police officers had been injured during the overnight protest, with 113 hurt since the beginning of the unrest. Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze accused the opposition of "coordinated violence" aimed at overthrowing the constitutional order.

Dozens of protesters have also been injured since the latest demonstrations began, and the United States has condemned what it called the excessive use of police force.

President Salome Zourabichvili, a pro-EU figure who backs the protesters, said many of those arrested had suffered head and face injuries as a result of beatings.

"This is the revolt of an entire country," she told French news group France Inter.

Hundreds of diplomats and civil servants have signed open letters protesting the decision to suspend talks with the EU and stop receiving any funds from the bloc for four years. At least four Georgian ambassadors have resigned.

Ilia Topuria, a martial arts fighter with a major following in the country, wrote in an Instagram post: "I am opposed to the decision to terminate our accession negotiations to the European Union. I am ashamed to see how the children of Georgia are treated. This is not called freedom."

Zourabichvili has called for pressure to be brought on the Constitutional Court to annul elections won by the ruling party, Georgian Dream, in October. Both the opposition and Zourabichvili say the poll was rigged.

Zourabichvili, whose powers are mainly ceremonial, says she will not leave office when her term expires this month because the parliament that will choose her successor is illegitimate.

The election commission says the vote was fair. Prime Minister Kobakhidze on Sunday said Zourabichvili was reacting emotionally to the opposition's election defeat and would have to leave the presidential palace at the end of the month.

Tension in Georgia has been building for months as the ruling party has passed laws on "foreign agents" and on curbing freedoms. Georgian Dream says it is acting to defend the country's sovereignty against outside interference and prevent the West from dragging it into a war with Russia.