Iran could launch a pre-emptive strike if Israel prepares to attack it, a senior Revolutionary Guards commander told broadcaster Al-Alam on Sunday, a day after his boss warned that conflict was inevitable. Should Israel and Iran engage militarily, "nothing is predictable... and it will turn into World War III," Brigadier General Amir Ali Hajizadeh told Iran's Arabic-language television network.
Hajizadeh, who is in charge of Revolutionary Guards missile systems, said: "In circumstances in which they (the Israelis) have prepared everything for an attack, it is possible that we will make a pre-emptive attack. But we do not see this at the moment."
He added that Iran would deem any Israeli strike to be conducted with US authorisation, so "whether the Zionist regime attacks with or without US knowledge, then we will definitely attack US bases in Bahrain, Qatar and Afghanistan."
He warned that Israel "cannot imagine our response - and it will sustain heavy damage and that will be a prelude to its obliteration." On Saturday, the head of the Revolutionary Guards, General Mohammad Ali Jafari, said war between Iran and Israel "will eventually happen, but it is not certain where and when."
It was the first time a senior Iranian official had acknowledged a probability of war breaking out between the two arch-foes. Jafari, quoted by the ISNA and Fars news agencies, also said such a conflict would lead to the annihilation of Israel.