Iran's State-Run Newspaper Threatens Israel With Airstrikes for 'Just One Wrong Move!'

By Justin Klawans On 12/15/21 at 11:54 PM EST

One of Iran's state-run newspapers published an article Wednesday threatening to attack Israel with airstrikes for "just one wrong move!"

The article was printed in the Tehran Times, one of three major English-language newspapers published by the Iranian government. The Times, like most papers in Iran, is "funded by and ideologically connected to political parties or politicians," according to the Council on Foreign Relations.

The piece appears to have been written in response to an Israeli newspaper, Yedioth Ahronoth, referring to a prior Israeli airstrike on Syrian territory as "a direct message" to Iran. Additionally, the article took issue with the United States' request of Israel that it work towards the disarmament of Iran's ballistic missile program.

The Times published the piece as Israel ramps up its military forces to prepare for a potential strike at Iran, according to Israeli sources.

"An intensification of the Israeli military threats against Iran seems to suggest that the Zionist regime has forgotten that Iran is more than capable of hitting them from anywhere," the article stated.

The Iranian outlet added that its country's military was at "maximum vigilance."

"At the strategic level, we do not intend to strike anyone, but at the operational and tactical level, we are ready for a decisive response and a quick and tough offensive against the enemy," according to Iranian Major General Mohammad Bagheri, who was quoted in the article.

"Despite our confidence in the deterrence situation of the country, our forces have never underestimated the threat of the enemy and are prepared for the smallest of threats in the strategic field."

Iran Missile — Iran's state-run newspaper has warned that it could strike at Israel if the country makes one misstep. Here, an Iranian surface-to-air missile is seen launching in 2008. AFP/Getty

Accompanying the article was a map that appeared to show Iranian missile targets sprinkled across Israel. The map was reportedly also published on the Times' front page.

The article also referred to Israel as an illegitimate country, despite its having received international recognition by a vast majority of the United Nations' member states.

"The Tehran Times doesn't need to remind the illegitimate regime of Israel of Iran's defense capabilities," the story continued.

Beyond this, the article refers to Israel as a "Zionist regime" multiple times. The ideology in question advocates for a Jewish national state, but is often used as an antisemitic epithet by Israel's opponents.

Harkening back to a 2013 quote from Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, the article further threatened to destroy a number of Israeli cities.

"Sometimes the leaders of the Zionist regime even threaten us," the quote stated. "They are threatening to strike militarily, but I think they know it, and if they do not know it, they must know that if they make a mistake, the Islamic Republic will destroy Tel Aviv and Haifa."

The story ended with a final threat from Iran towards Israel: "Keep your hands off!"

A response to the Iranian article published in The Jerusalem Post, one of Israel's major English-language newspapers, stated that the missile threat also appeared to target areas that were under Palestinian control. Hamas, a Palestinian militant organization, has long been supported and funded by Iran.

"Ramallah and Hebron also seem to be in Iran's list of retaliatory targets should Israel conduct a strike against the Islamic Republic," the article stated.