As Ahmadinejad Arrives in NYC, Iranian Commander Threatens Preemptive Strike Against Israel and U.S. Bases

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Joel C. Rosenberg
(Washington, D.C., September 24, 2012) -- Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, 55, has arrived in New York City to speak at the opening session of the U.N. General Assembly saying he does not take seriously the possibility of an Israeli strike on Iran's nuclear facilities.

Currently serving his second term as president, Ahmadinejad -- a believer that the Twelfth Imam is coming soon to annihilate the U.S. and Israel and to set up a global Islamic caliphate -- is expected to leave office in 2013. This may be, therefore, the Iranian leader's last address to the U.N. in his current role. He has spoken about the imminent arrival of the Twelfth Imam or "Promised One" in every U.N. speech so far. Will he go further this time? He is certainly projecting self-confidence in the face of a possible war with Israel. "Fundamentally we do not take seriously the threats of the Zionists," Ahmadinejad told reporters in New York this morning. "We have all the defensive means at our disposal and we are ready to defend ourselves."

One of Iran's top military leaders went further over the weekend, however. He spoke not of his nation's ability to defend itself from an Israeli attack, but of its potential desire to strike first -- at Israel and at American military personnel and facilities. "Iran could launch a pre-emptive strike on Israel if it was sure the Jewish state were preparing to attack it, a senior commander of its elite Revolutionary Guards was quoted as saying on Sunday," Reuters reports. "Amir Ali Hajizadeh, a brigadier general in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, made the comments to Iran's state-run Arabic language Al-Alam television, according to a report on the network's website. "Iran...could launch a pre-emptive attack if it was sure that the enemies are....

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