Mohsen Rezaei, head of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu would be “sent to hell” and claimed Netanyahu’s “major mistakes” had accelerated Israel’s decline. In an interview with Lebanon’s Al-Manar television, Rezaei also described Beirut and its southern areas as Iranian “red lines,” saying aggression there would not be accepted.

Rezaei said Iran does not seek war, but warned that any new conflict would differ from previous wars and draw an unprecedented Iranian response. He said countries from which US aircraft take off or from which US missiles are launched against Iran would also be regarded as enemies.

He identified an end to war in Gaza and Lebanon, an Israeli withdrawal from occupied Lebanese territory, and an end to Israeli attacks in Damascus as important conditions. Rezaei said West Asia’s situation is interconnected and its crises must be resolved together. Iran’s contacts with the United States are currently suspended, with Tehran saying no new talks will occur until US military attacks and hostile statements stop.