Vahidi: Israel threats against Iran ridiculous

Iran's Defense Minister Brigadier General Ahmad Vahidi

Iranian Defense Minister Brigadier General Ahmad Vahidi has severely criticized Israeli military threats against Iran over its peaceful nuclear program, saying such saber-rattling is “ridiculous.”

“Zionists make a lot of noise and rhetorically threaten to take military action against Iran but these remarks are ridiculous,” Vahidi said during an address to an international conference in Tehran, held on Thursday to commemorate the martyred commanders in the Islamic world. 

“The Zionist regime is on the verge of dissolution and undoubtedly its [potential military] action against the Islamic Republic of Iran will certainly lead to the disintegration of the occupying regime,” the Iranian defense minister added. 

The comments come as Israeli officials have recently ramped up their war rhetoric against Iran over its peaceful nuclear activities. 

On February 2, Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak warned that if the Western sanctions imposed against Tehran fail to stop its nuclear program, military action against the country must be put on agenda. 

Meanwhile, Israeli President Shimon Peres has reportedly called on Israeli officials to halt their recently intensified war rhetoric against Iran, describing such anti-Iran remarks as unnecessary warmongering. 

Peres told the Israeli officials that there is no point in the "unceasing self-intimidation," and that Israel should leave “the Iran issue to the superpowers, first and foremost the United States,” the Israeli daily Haaretz reported on Thursday. 

The report also said that Peres is expected to tell US President Barack Obama in an upcoming meeting that he (Peres) does not believe Israel should attack Iran in the near future. 

On February 5, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu similarly warned ministers from his center-right Likud political party to avoid making statements on a possible military attack against Iran, saying such remarks could be damaging to Israel. 

"The chatter causes extensive damage, puts Israel on the frontline and impedes the sanction efforts," Netanyahu said during a Likud ministerial meeting in East al-Quds (Jerusalem). 

The United States, Israel, and some of their allies accuse Tehran of pursuing military objectives in its nuclear program. Washington and Tel Aviv have repeatedly threatened Tehran with the "option" of a military strike against its nuclear facilities. 

Iran argues that as a signatory to the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and a member of the International Atomic Energy Agency, it has every right to develop and acquire nuclear technology for peaceful purposes. 

Iranian officials have promised a crushing response to any military strike against the country, warning that any such measure could result in a war that would spread beyond the Middle East.