The elite special forces unit of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, specifically tasked with operating outside Iran’s borders, is known as the Quds Force. This secretive organization is officially designated as a sponsor of terror by the United States, and they are known to have either directly carried out or to have authorized and funded terror attacks around the world. According to U.S. General Stanley McChrystal, the Quds Force was directly responsible for at least 20% of the casualties suffered by American forces in the Iraq war.
It is important to note that Quds is the Arabic name for Jerusalem. Each year on the final Friday of Ramadan, Iran observes Quds Day, calling on Muslims around the world to take the Holy City away from Jewish control. Iran has become an implacable enemy of Israel, and they are willing to go to any length to harm and destroy the Jewish people.
There is no secret about Iran’s designs for the city of Jerusalem. Recently a high-ranking official, Iran’s deputy foreign minister, said Jerusalem was the “unchangeable” capital of the Muslim world. Speaking in Tehran, Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said the city would remain the Palestinian capital forever, according to a report from Iran’s Fars News Agency (the official government media company).
“Jerusalem is the unchangeable capital of the Muslim world and of Palestine,” Araghchi said, adding Iran will “confront any attempt to change this reality”. The comments came shortly before U.S. President Donald Trump moved the U.S. Embassy from the Israeli city of Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, following through on a long-held pledge to recognize the city as Israel’s capital.
Though previous U.S. leaders, including former presidents Barack Obama, George W. Bush, and Bill Clinton, had spoken of doing the same during their tenures, Trump was the one who actually made the move. The decision has attracted strong criticism from Muslim states, including opponents of the U.S., such as Iran, but also its traditional allies, such as Turkey, but received great praise and gratitude from friends of Israel.
Araghchi was voicing sentiments widely expressed by Iranian leaders, most notably by Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. In a speech published on his personal website, Khamenei said all Muslims had a duty to oppose Israeli and U.S. attempts to wrestle Jerusalem from the Palestinians.
“We must by no means think that it is too late, even if decades have passed,” he said. The radical Muslims who hate Israel will never be satisfied with anything less than the total destruction of the Jewish state and the Jewish people.
