"The Islamic Republic of Iran will respond with a crushing response that will cause regret to any aggression or stupid actions of this regime against the interests of our country in Syria and the region," said Abbas Mousavi.
Mousavi stressed that Iran was invited to Syria with the aim of combating terrorism backed by the US and Israel. "Our country will not hesitate for a moment to defend its presence in Syria and defend its national security and regional interests," said the spokesperson.
The Iranian official added that the Islamic Republic will "pursue militant threats and statements" by Israel in international forums.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told Army Radio on Wednesday that Israel would not allow Iran to gain a foothold along the northern border, pointing out that Israel has conducted "countless" attacks to prevent this.
When asked whether he thought an Iranian revenge attack for the US assassination of former IRGC Quds Force commander Qasem Soleimani would include Israel, Netanyahu stated that he would "of course will not discuss these things," but added that Israel is "doing what needs to be done."
On Tuesday, Defense Minister Naftali Bennett stated that Israel is engaged in a continuous campaign to weaken Iran and to remove its forces from Syria."We are constantly working to raise the stakes for Iran until we reach our ultimate goal: removing them from Syria. We will continue to prevent an Iranian presence on our northern border,” Bennett said at Kibbutz Dafna in the Galilee during a ceremony marking the Disaster of the Helicopters that occurred on February 4, 1997.“We are in a continuous campaign to weaken the Iranian octopus. On the economic, political, intelligence, military, and other [levels],” he explained. “When [an] octopus’s arms beat you, don’t fight back with only your arms, but strangle the head. And so it is with Iran.”Anna Ahronheim contributed to this report.