Iran warns Saudi for bringing 'battle' to Iran remark

Following Saudi deputy crown prince's comments about moving the battle to Iran, Defense Minister Brigadier General Hossein Dehqan says if the Saudis do anything stupid, the Iranian army will hit back and destroy all of the kingdom -- apart from Mecca and Medina.

Dehqan gave the warning in an interview broadcast on Arabic-language Al-Manar TV on Sunday in response to remarks made by Saudi deputy crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who said any battle between Riyadh and Tehran would take place on Iranian soil. "We will work to have the battle in Iran rather than in Saudi Arabia," prince Mohammed had said.

"We warn them against doing anything ignorant, but if they do something ignorant, we will leave nowhere untouched apart from Mecca and Medina," said Dehqan.He referred to the Saudi bombing campaign on Yemen -- in which over 12,000 people have died -- and said the Saudis think they can do anything because they have an air force. On Tuesday, Mohammed bin Salman, who is also Saudi Arabia's defense minister, ruled out ties with Iran after Tehran announced the possibility of de-escalation of tensions if Riyadh halts its war against Yemen. 

He stressed that talks with Iran were impossible as Tehran's goal was to "control the Muslim world."The remarks were made after Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said the Islamic Republic was ready to normalize ties with Riyadh if the Kingdom halted its bombardment of Yemen and stopped supporting extremist groups.

Meanwhile on Saturday, the Iranian Armed Forces spokesman dismissed the recent Saudi deputy crown prince's remarks, noting that Riyadh is implementing the hostile policies of the US and the Israeli regime in the region.  

On Wednesday, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Bahram Qassemi said that Prince Mohammed's remarks prove that the kingdom follows "confrontational and destructive policies" in the region and towards Tehran.

Saudi Arabia has been incessantly pounding Yemen since March 2015 in an attempt to bring back to power the resigned president, Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi, who is a staunch ally of Riyadh, and to undermine the Houthi Ansarullah movement. The Riyadh regime has, however, failed to reach its goals despite suffering great expense.