February 18, 2022
The regime has resumed a theme it used to pump frequently but had allowed to wane that the Islamic Republic is a militarily mighty country so strong that it frightens the world, including Israel and the United States.
The theme was resumed late in December with President Raisi, Tehran Friday Prayers leader Kazem Sediqi, Pasdar commander Major General Hossain Salami, and others all making speeches over the next month to try to convince the Iranian public that they have nothing to fear about an invasion by foreigners.
It is suspected that the theme is being pressed from all sides because regime polling once again shows the public to be very concerned that the regime’s policy of confrontation with the United States and the West risks having Iran invaded.
A few years ago, that fear was rampant and the regime mounted an identical campaign then, claiming such immense military power that no one would ever think of attacking Iran.
President Raisi launched the campaign December 30 with a speech asserting that Iran with its allies in the region had gained the “upper hand” over the United States and its allies. “The US is in decline and is growing weaker day-by-day,” Raisi said.
Raisi asserted that the Americans had been “evicted” from Afghanistan, ignoring the fact that President Biden ran in 2020 on a pledge to remove all US troops from Afghanistan. Raisi said the remaining American troops in Iraq and Syria are on the verge of being ousted. He said nothing about the very much larger number of US troops stationed in other Middle Eastern countries or on ships at sea in the region.
The very same day, General Salami said Iran does not fear its enemies as they have already tested Iran’s military and are well aware of the Islamic Republic’s might.
“We are not afraid of the enemy because we tower over them,” Salami said. “They have tested us in the field, so we are not worried about the military power of the enemy.” He did not say what he meant about being “tested.” The last time the two countries faced-off in a firefight was in 1988 in the Persian Gulf when the US Navy defeated every plane and ship sent against it.
But Salami said, “The more we look into the depths of the enemy, the more fatigue and helplessness we see in them, and we are sure that this process will continue.”
The speeches were made in the run-up to the January 3 second anniversary of the US assassination of Maj. Gen. Qasem Soleymani. Salami said the Americans hoped to “undermine the resistance front” by killing Soleymani, but instead it had “become stronger and more powerful than ever before.”
Salami said, “Just look at the size of the area of American influence and that of the [Islamic] revolution compared to the past.”
In perhaps the most stunning remarks, Rear Admiral Ali-Reza Tangsiri, commander of the Pasdar maritime arm, said his forces have “repeatedly humiliated the US in direct battle in the Persian Gulf and our fighters have slapped the face of arrogance nine times.” He said more than 50 American servicemen had been killed in those nine clashes.
Iran has never before claimed any outright battles with the US forces since 1988 and has not before claimed to have killed any American troops since then.
At Tehran Friday prayers, Sediqi declared, “We are in a position in the world that no country dares to attack us.”
He said at one time the Americans, the Israelis and the Mojahedin-e Khalq sought to confront Iran, but, as a result, “our country achieved an outstanding military industry to counter them.”