'Israel will be destroyed'

2008-02-21 18:09

Tehran - The assassination of a top Hezbollah commander will accelerate Israel's demise at the hands of outraged followers of the Shi'ite Lebanese group, an adviser to Iran's most powerful figure said on Thursday.

Yahya Rahim Safavi, also former commander-in-chief of Iran's elite Revolutionary Guards, said Imad Moughniyah's killing in a car bomb earlier this month in the Syrian capital Damascus had angered thousands of young members of Iran-backed Hezbollah.

"With such anger, the definite death of Israel will arrive sooner," Rahim Safavi told the official IRNA news agency.

Iran and Hezbollah have accused Israel of assassinating Moughniyah, who was wanted for years by the US and Israel for links to attacks that killed many, including the 1994 bombing of a Jewish community centre in Buenos Aires and the 1985 TWA plane hijacking.

Israel denies the accusation. As a wanted man, he moved secretly between Lebanon, Syria and Iran.

Destroyed at the "hands of Hezbollah"

Iran does not recognise Israel and its hardline President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has often predicted the imminent demise of the Jewish state, drawing criticism from the West which fears Tehran is seeking nuclear bombs.

Tehran insists its nuclear work is only aimed at generating electricity and Iranian officials say the Islamic state is not a threat to any country, including Israel.

Since the Moughniyah assassination, Tehran has increased its rhetoric against the Jewish state.

Ahmadinejad on Wednesday called Israel a "savage animal". Iran's Revolutionary Guards commander, Mohammad Ali Jafari, who replaced Rahim Safavi in September, also said earlier this week Israel would soon be destroyed at the "hands of Hezbollah".

Rahim Safavi was appointed as a military adviser to Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who has final say in all state matters.

Western analysts say the Revolutionary Guards, an ideological wing of Iran's armed forces, has given military support to Hezbollah.

Tehran denies this, saying it only provides moral backing to the Lebanese Shi'ite Muslim group.

- Reuters