Iran's military chief says forces can strike US and Israel without geographic limits

A senior Iranian military commander has said that Iran's armed forces are prepared for a confrontation with the United States and Israel and could respond to both countries without any geographic restriction, two Israeli news outlets reported on Saturday afternoon. N12's Arab affairs desk identified the speaker as Ali Abdollahi, head of the general staff of Iran's armed forces, and said he made the remarks while addressing what was described as rising security tension.

In the quotation carried by N12, the commander said Iranian forces were ready to answer their American and Israeli enemies with no geographic limits. He also claimed, as N12 relayed it, that the Iranian military had put together a new set of targets for attack in both Israel and the United States. Ynet's breaking news channel reported the statement in similar terms, attributing it to Iran's chief of staff and highlighting the reference to a new target list.

Who is speaking

Iran maintains two parallel military structures: the regular army and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. A general staff sits above both and coordinates them, which makes its chief one of the most senior uniformed officers in the country. Statements from that office are generally read as reflecting the position of the military leadership as a whole rather than one branch.

The two reports describe the speaker slightly differently. N12 named him as Ali Abdollahi and gave his title in full as chief of the general staff of the armed forces. Ynet's alert used the shorter Hebrew term for chief of staff, the same word Israelis use for the head of their own military, and did not name him in the alert itself. Neither report suggests the two outlets are describing different people, but only N12 gives a name.

What was said, and what was not

The substance of the remarks, as reported, rests on two claims. The first is a declaration of readiness: that Iranian forces are prepared to respond to the United States and Israel and that this response would not be confined to any particular region. The second is operational: that a new list of targets has been compiled covering both countries.

Neither report gives any detail about what those targets are, how many there are, or where they are located. The phrase about geographic limits is also left undefined. It could be read as a reference to range, to theatres of operation, or to the presence of American forces and assets outside the Middle East, but the commander, as quoted, did not specify, and this article does not attempt to interpret it.

How Israeli outlets handled the statement

Both reports came through the Telegram channels that Israeli media organisations use to push short alerts to subscribers before fuller articles are published. Ynet is the online arm of the Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper group; N12 is a major Israeli television news service. N12 carried the item under its Arab world desk, the team that monitors media and official statements from across the region. Ynet's item pointed readers to a fuller report on its website.

Statements of this kind from Iranian officials are relayed regularly by Israeli media, particularly during periods of heightened tension. N12 framed the remarks against what it called increasing security tension, without describing the specific developments behind that tension.

What the reports do not say

• Where and to whom the remarks were made: neither alert identifies the venue, the audience, or the Iranian outlet that first carried the statement.
• What prompted the comments: the reports refer to rising tension but do not link the remarks to any particular event.
• Any detail of the target list, including whether it refers to military, civilian or other sites.
• Whether Israeli or American officials responded: neither report includes a reaction from either government or from the Israel Defense Forces.
• The original wording: both reports give the remarks in Hebrew, so the English here is a translation of a translation.