Iranian Revolutionary Guards warns Saudi Arabia, UAE to respect its ‘red lines’

LONDON: Iran’s Revolutionary Guards ( IRGC) told Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates yesterday to respect Tehran’s ‘red lines’ or face retaliation, as the US and its Gulf allies increase pressure on Tehran to curb its regional influence.

Iran accuses Saudi Arabia and the UAE of funding five gunmen who attacked a military parade in Iran last Saturday and killed 25 people, 12 of them members of the elite IRGC. Saudi Arabia and the UAE have denied any involvement.

“If you cross our red lines, we will surely cross yours. You know the storm the Iranian nation can create,” the Fars news agency quoted Brigadier General Hossein Salami, deputy head of the Guards, as saying.

Addressing worshippers attending Friday prayers in Tehran, Salami said in a stronglyworded speech: “Stop creating plots and tensions. You are not invincible. You are sitting in a glass house and cannot tolerate the revenge of the Iranian nation... We have shown selfrestraint.”

Salami also told the US to ‘stop supporting the terrorists or they will pay the price’.

Iran has accused the US of supporting the assailants who carried out last Saturday’s attack. Washington has denied having any prior knowledge of the incident.

The Revolutionary Guards vowed on Sunday to exact ‘deadly and unforgettable’ vengeance for Saturday’s attack.

Shi’ite Muslim Iran and Sunni Muslim Saudi Arabia are archrivals in the Middle East and support opposing sides in the Syrian and Yemen conflicts. — Reuters