Israel will hit Tehran if Iran attacks Tel Aviv: minister

JERUSALEM: Israeli Defence Minister Avigdor Lieberman vowed in an interview Thursday to strike at any attempt by Iran to establish a “military foothold” in Syria, following an attack this month attributed to his country.

Speaking with a news website run by a Saudi businessman that regularly interviews Israeli officials, Lieberman also threatened firm retaliation if Israel was attacked by Iran. “If they attack Tel Aviv, we’ll strike Tehran,” he told the Elaph website. “We don’t intervene in the war, don’t fight there, but Iran is trying to establish bases there and attack us from there with advanced arms it brings to them,” Lieberman said of neighbouring Syria.

“I can’t stand by when I see Iran do that close to the Golan, and when it supports Hezbollah in Syria and Lebanon, and tries to establish a foothold in Syria in order to attack Israel.” He added that “any site in which we see an Iranian attempt to achieve a military foothold in Syria will be struck. We won’t let that happen, regardless of the price.”

Khamenei urges Muslim nations to unite against US: Iran’s supreme leader called on Muslim nations to unite against the United States, saying Tehran would never yield to “bullying,” state television reported on Thursday.

“The Iranian nation has successfully resisted bullying attempts by America and other arrogant powers and we will continue to resist. . . All Muslim nations should stand united against America and other enemies,” Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said.

“Such remarks are humiliation for Muslims . . . Unfortunately there is war in our region between Muslim countries. The backward governments of some Muslim countries are fighting with other countries,” Khamenei said.

A top adviser to Iran’s supreme leader said on Thursday Tehran would not accept any change to its nuclear deal, as Western sigNatories prepare a new package in the hope of persuading US President Donald Trump to stick with the accord.

“Any change or amendment to the current deal will not be accepted by Iran,” said Ali Akbar Velayati, a senior adviser to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the semi-official Iranian news agency Fars reported. “If Trump exits the deal, Iran will surely pull out of it ...Iran will not accept a nuclear deal with no benefits for us,” Velayati said.