Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, who is the special assistant to the speaker of the Iranian parliament and a former Iranian deputy foreign minister, said that if Israel "carries out even the smallest mistake" against Iran, Iran would raze Tel Aviv and Haifa to the ground. He accused Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of employing childish and bombastic diplomatic tactics at the U.N. General Assembly and on TV, and said that Netanyahu and Israel have reached the end of the road. Abdollahian added that the Arab countries, including Saudi Arabia, will never unite, and that Iran, Iraq, and Turkey are the only reason the Arab nations can maintain their security. Abdollahian called on the Arab countries to stop playing Trump "the lunatic" and Netanyahu's games, and invited them to partner with "their real friends, like Iran." Abdollahian's remarks aired on Russia Today TV on October 18, 2018.

Following are excerpts:

Hossein Amir-Abdollahian: Israel does not have the courage or the capability to carry out even the smallest mistake [attack] against the Islamic Republic. The reason is that our intelligence agency has gathered very accurate information about Israel's psychological state, morale, capabilities, and weaknesses. Secondly, the highest level of the revolution's leadership, Ali Khamenei, declared that if Israel carried out the smallest mistake against Iran, we would raze Tel Aviv and Haifa to the ground. Therefore, the Zionist do not dare to act against us. Every year, at the United Nations General Assembly and on TV, Netanyahu employs childish and bombastic diplomatic [tactics], trying to intimidate us in Iran. Netanyahu has reached the end of the road, and soon he will find out that Israel has also reached the end. Jerusalem will never be their capital. If the Israelis decide to continue along this path, they will only hasten their fall into the abyss.

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I am not a security or military analyst, but I can say that Israel is surrounded from all directions by the resistance movements in the region. The slightest mistake would cost Israel dearly.

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Netanyahu needs to realize that his dream of the Iranians leaving Syria will not come true. This pertains to the mutual defense agreements between Tehran and Damascus.

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We do not need to shut down the Strait of Hormuz. We have dozens of political, cultural, economic, and geopolitical straits through which we can besiege America. The Trump Administration has isolated the U.S. from the Western countries, and even from the countries in the region. All these countries know that Trump's policy will lead nowhere.

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One of the Arab kings once said to me: "Only when all the world's deserts bloom and turn green, will the Arab countries unite." The Arab NATO will never be more than an idea on paper. Despite the support of Trump the lunatic, they will form no NATO. Only with the help of countries in the region like Iran, Iraq, and Turkey, can the Arabs maintain their security and restore security to the region. We call Saudi Arabia and all the Arab countries to take part in these security arrangements. We call upon them not to participate in the games of Trump and Netanyahu. They should turn to their real friends, like Iran, to restore security in the region.