Iranian commander warns there are 100,000 missiles ready to strike Israel

July 16, 2010: Hossein Salami, deputy head of Iran's Revolutionary Guard. (Reuters)

The deputy commander of Iran's powerful Revolutionary Guard declared Friday that there are tens of thousands of missiles in Lebanon ready to strike Israel.

"Hezbollah has 100,000 missiles that are ready to hit Israel to liberate the occupied Palestinian territories if the Zionist regime repeats its past mistakes," Gen. Hossein Salami was quoted as saying by Tasnim, according to Reuters.

The Jerusalem Post reported that Salami warned that Israel’s occupied territories could come under attack if they make the “wrong move.”

“Today, the grounds for the annihilation and collapse of the Zionist regime are (present) more than ever,” he said.

Additionally, state TV reported Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani accused the West of trying to exploit differences between Shiite and Sunni Muslims to divert attention from the Palestinian-Israel conflict.

"The global arrogance (the United States and its allies) wants to create discord among Muslims ... Unity is the only way to restore stability in the region," Rouhani said. "We stand with the dispossessed Palestinian nation."

Rouhani spoke as tens of thousands of Iranians joined in an anti-Israel rally to express support for the Palestinians. The demonstrators shouted "Death to Israel" and "Death to America" and while they burned an Israeli flag.

“The Zionist regime (Israel) is a regional base for America and the global arrogance ... Disunity and discord among Muslim and terrorist groups in the region ... have diverted us from the important issue of Palestine," Rouhani added.

Israeli opposition has been a policy of Tehran’s since the 1979 Islamic Revolution. Shiite Muslim Iran has backed Palestinian and Lebanese militant groups who oppose peace with Israel.

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