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Iran's New Guards Chief Says ‘Gates of Hell’ Will Open on Israel, Netanyahu Expects ‘Waves of Attacks’

People gather near a damaged building, in the aftermath of Israeli strikes, in Tehran, Iran, June 13, 2025. Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via Reuters
People gather near a damaged building, in the aftermath of Israeli strikes, in Tehran, Iran, June 13, 2025. Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via Reuters
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Iran's New Guards Chief Says ‘Gates of Hell’ Will Open on Israel, Netanyahu Expects ‘Waves of Attacks’

People gather near a damaged building, in the aftermath of Israeli strikes, in Tehran, Iran, June 13, 2025. Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via Reuters
People gather near a damaged building, in the aftermath of Israeli strikes, in Tehran, Iran, June 13, 2025. Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via Reuters

The newly appointed commander of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), Mohammad Pakpour, threatened on Friday to open "the gates of hell" in retaliation for Israel's attacks that killed his predecessor Hossein Salami.

"In retribution for the blood of our fallen commanders, scientists and citizens, the gates of hell will soon be opened upon this child-killing regime," Pakpour said of Israel in a message carried by state news agency IRNA.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he expected "several waves of Iranian attacks" in response to Israeli strikes on the country on Friday, saying he had initially planned an attack in April.

"We expect to be exposed to several waves of Iranian attacks," Netanyahu said in a video statement, after Israel struck military and nuclear sites in Iran in the early hours of Friday.

"It was necessary to act and I set the implementation date for the end of April 2025," he said. "For various reasons, it did not work out."

Iran called Israel's wave of strikes on Friday a "declaration of war," while US President Donald Trump warned Tehran of "even more brutal" attacks if it does not make a deal on its nuclear program.

Israel said its air strikes had killed several top Iranian generals and scientists, including most of the senior leadership of the IRGC's air force, while hitting about 100 targets including nuclear facilities.

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Iran Says it Would Resume Nuclear Talks with US if Guaranteed No Further Attacks

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi attends a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia June 23, 2025. Sputnik/Sergei Karpukhin/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi attends a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia June 23, 2025. Sputnik/Sergei Karpukhin/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo
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Iran Says it Would Resume Nuclear Talks with US if Guaranteed No Further Attacks

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi attends a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia June 23, 2025. Sputnik/Sergei Karpukhin/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi attends a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia June 23, 2025. Sputnik/Sergei Karpukhin/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo

Iran’s foreign minister said Saturday that his country would accept a resumption of nuclear talks with the US if there were assurances of no more attacks against it, state media reported.

Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said in a speech to Tehran-based foreign diplomats that Iran has always been ready and will be ready in the future for talks about its nuclear program, but, “assurance should be provided that in case of a resumption of talks, the trend will not lead to war.”

Referring to the 12-day Israeli bombardment of Iran's nuclear and military sites, and the US strike on June 22, Araghchi said that if the US and others wish to resume talks with Iran, "first of all, there should be a firm guarantee that such actions will not be repeated. The attack on Iran's nuclear facilities has made it more difficult and complicated to achieve a solution based on negotiations.”

Following the strikes, Iran suspended cooperation with the UN nuclear watchdog, which led to the departure of inspectors.

Araghchi said that under Iranian law, the country will answer the agency’s request for cooperation "case by case,” based on Iran’s interests. He also said any inspection by the agency should be done based on Iran's “security” concerns as well as the safety of the inspectors. “The risk of proliferation of radioactive ingredients and an explosion of ammunition that remains from the war in the attacked nuclear sites is serious,” he said.

"The risk of spreading radioactive materials and the risk of exploding leftover munitions ... are serious," he added.

"For us, IAEA inspectors approaching nuclear sites has both a security aspect ... and the safety of the inspectors themselves is a matter that must be examined."

He also reiterated Iran's position on the need to continue enriching uranium on its soil. US President Donald Trump has insisted that cannot happen.

Israel claims it acted because Tehran was within reach of a nuclear weapon. US intelligence agencies and the International Atomic Energy Agency had assessed Iran last had an organized nuclear weapons program in 2003, though Tehran had been enriching uranium up to 60% — a short, technical step away from weapons-grade levels of 90%.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian in an interview published Monday said the US airstrikes so badly damaged his country’s nuclear facilities that Iranian authorities still have not been able to access them to survey the destruction.