TEHRAN/WASHINGTON — Iran's military chief on Tuesday warned that the country's armed forces will respond to any level of threat by the United States and Israel immediately and without any geographical limitation.
Iran's forces "will meet any level or type of threat with an immediate and impactful response and without geographical limitations," Chief of Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces Ali Abdollahi issued the warning in a message, carried by Iranian media.
Abdollahi said Iran does not seek war, but the country's strategy has changed from being defensive to "offensive initiative."
He also said "the unipolar world order" has been forced to accept the new reality that "regional nations and powers are capable of ensuring their own security without relying on the US security umbrella".
The remarks came amid heightened US threats of military action against Iran.
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On Thursday, US President Donald Trump was briefed by top US military officials on options regarding Iran, while the United States has informed several Gulf countries to prepare for a possible brief but intense military campaign against Iran after the US midterm elections, The Wall Street Journal reported.
US military aid to Israel to 'end by year-end'
In an interview with Fox News, Trump said US military assistance to Israel would be discontinued at the end of this year, arguing that Israel no longer needs the aid and is capable of purchasing its own weapons.
"We were giving them 4 billion dollars - we are - but it gets cut off at the end of the year," Trump said.
Trump said the assistance had included both military equipment and financial support, describing it variously as military aid, cash or "barter".
He added that he and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had discussed ending the assistance for years, saying the idea had been raised by Netanyahu himself.
"They don't need it," Trump said. "Israel's our number one. We give them more than anybody else, and they no longer need it."
There has been no confirmation from the Israeli side of Trump's announcement.
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During an interview with CBS News in May, Netanyahu said he wanted to reduce US financial support for Israel to zero, starting immediately and completing the process over the following 10 years.
