Iran won't start the war but is fully prepared for any conflict - IRGC chief

"We are not at all concerned about war. We will not be the ones to start a war, but we are fully prepared for any conflict," IRGC Chief Commander Hossein Salami said Saturday.

"We're ready for both psychological operations and military action by the enemy, but we will not retreat a single step."

He said Iran's enemy is spread across the region and is within the Islamic Republic military's reach everywhere.

Israel "is like a spread-out table in front of us. A great power has been amassed. If the enemy wishes to untie our hands so it can witness the reality of our power, we are ready."

Salami likened Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei to Prophet Moses, saying he will lead Iranians through the turmoil just as Moses parted the Nile and brought his people safely through it.

He said the Iran-Israel confrontation is a "real war—a battle for survival and a clash between two entities."

"This is the greatest confrontation in the history of Muslims against polytheists, unbelievers, and hypocrites. This front is the most unequal battle in history since Ashura," he said. "The enemy has come with all its might to force the surrender and destruction of dignity, honor, identity, Islam, and [the principle of] leadership—but it cannot succeed."