By the grace of God, there will soon be no more what is called the “Zionist regime,” Iran’s military chief of staff said on Friday, as the government commemorated Quds Day.
“The countdown to the fall of Zionism has begun,” the Islamic Republic Army said in an announcement carried by local media.
In the official terminology used by the Iranian regime, Israel is referred to as a “Zionist entity” or “Zionist regime.” Throughout its 44-year history, Iranian clerics have called for the “eradication” or “destruction” of Israel.
In 2015, Iranian ruler Ali Khamenei announced that Israel would cease to exist in the next 25 years, and in 2016 the Iranian regime installed a ticking countdown clock in Tehran’s Palestine Square. This follows the signing of a nuclear deal between Iran and world powers in July 2015.
“75 years have passed since the occupation of Palestinian land by a plot by the evil British and American mafia regime,” the Iranian military said, calling for Muslim unity in support of the Palestinian people.
Iranian officials have in recent weeks loudly called on Palestinians to attack Israel, insisting that Jerusalem “will soon be liberated.” This followed political rifts and protests in Israel over Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s efforts to overhaul the judicial system.
Palestinian attacks from both Gaza and Lebanon continued, prompting an Israeli response with a series of military retaliatory confrontations.
“The countdown to the fall of Zionism has begun,” the statement said, adding: “With the grace of God, there will soon be nothing called the Zionist regime.”
