Commander of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Hossein Salami has threatened “the Islamic Republic’s enemies” with revenge for their “interventionist and mischievous actions.”

On the sidelines of the state-sponsored rallies to commemorate the anniversary of the occupation of the US embassy in Tehran in November 1979 and taking dozens of Americans hostage for 444 days, Salami said, “the enemies know that we will definitely respond to their interventionist and mischievous actions, but now we cannot say where and how we will do that.”

Using the term “Enemies” is a favorite of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei to refer to the United States, Israel, US allies in the region and in Europe.

“The enemies that said they were not focusing on the revival of the nuclear deal (JCPOA) have now focused on the domestic issues of the Islamic Republic,” the IRGC chief said. “They are worried that the Islamic Republic may take action against them. Accordingly, they have now retreated into a defensive shell for fear of Iran’s action against them,” he added. 

Following Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei’s lead, Iranian officials claim that the ongoing antigovernment protests across Iran – ignited by death in custody of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini -- are instigated by foreign enemies, particularly the US, Israel and some European countries.

On the fourth of November 1979, a group of radical students who were followers of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini stormed the US Embassy in Tehran and took 52 US diplomats and citizens hostage, marking the moment as the start of Iran’s hostage diplomacy. Since then, Iran has detained many dual nationals visiting the country and has used them as bargaining chips against Western countries, human rights organizations have said.