Abdollahi: If signs of enemy hostile action are confirmed, Iran will not wait for it to make the first move

The Chief of Staff of Iran's Armed Forces, Major General Ali Abdollahi, said in a statement on October 31 that if signs of hostile action by the enemy are confirmed, Iran's armed forces will not wait for the enemy to start moving before responding.

The full text of the statement reads: “With all our intelligence capabilities we are monitoring the enemy's movements and preparations and updating our target bank. Whenever signs of hostile action by the enemy are confirmed, the armed forces will not wait for it to begin its action in choosing the timing and manner of the response. Our response will be immediate, effective and without any geographical limits.”

Abdollahi also said that Iran will respond to the enemy with force and severity, without geographical limits, and that a new bank of the enemy's targets and assets has been prepared. He stressed that the United States and Israel would face a response beyond imagination and that Iran would determine the end of any new war.

The statement was issued after a meeting earlier the same day between the Commander-in-Chief of Iran's Armed Forces, Ayatollah Seyyed Mojtaba Khamenei, and senior commanders of the armed forces. At that meeting Khamenei said the target database must be updated so that all kinds of material and non-material assets belonging to the United States and Israel are within the sights of the armed forces. He said that if the enemies again launch military or terrorist attacks, the Armed Forces of the Islamic Republic and the Iranian people will determine when and under what conditions those attacks end.

On the same day, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Iran does not rule out any possibility of war breaking out, is prepared for all scenarios, and that the armed forces are at the highest level of readiness. Araghchi also said Iran currently sees no need to meet the Americans.

Iran's ambassador in Cairo, Mojtaba Ferdousipour, said messages are being exchanged between Iran and the United States through Qatari mediation, but that there are no direct or indirect negotiations with the United States, only Iranian-Qatari consultations.