Mick Hartley

Back to MEMRI TV – this time from Tehran, with IRGC General Mohammad Bagheri, the Chief of Staff of Iran's armed forces, at the Jamkaran Mosque in southern Tehran. He delivered his speech while Iranian soldiers stood in formation over a surface emblazoned with the inscription "Israel should be erased" in Persian and in Hebrew. The speech was at a ceremony in which Iran's armed forces renewed their pledge of allegiance to the Hidden Imam.

"The rule of our master and leader, the Hidden Imam, is the rule of the righteous. But what is the meaning of waiting for [his reappearance]? It does not mean to sit still and just feel love for the Hidden Imam. This waiting finds meaning in belief, Jihadi action, relentless effort, altruism, self-sacrifice, and readiness. What kind of battle will be fought in honor [of the Hidden Imam]? According to the traditions, it will be a fierce battle with the arrogant plunderers, who will be armed to the teeth. This battle will require commanding and powerful armed forces, dedicated, strong, committed, and brave jihad-fighting soldiers."

No need to specify who the "arrogant plunderers" are.

Or there's this clip, of an Iranian military parade show-casing the latest high-tech hardware, with the announcer proclaiming "Israel will be erased from the face of the earth. Death to Israel!” If Israel makes a mistake, Tel Aviv and Haifa will be razed to the ground: the IRGC wants to destroy Israel and will do so soon.

Obama's great plan to realign American Middle-East policy away from Israel towards a rapprochement with the Mullahs doesn't appear to have worked out very well.

Iran clearly and openly proclaims its intention to destroy another country, Israel, in the name of an absurd religious fantasy – and they mean it. Syria, meanwhile, is a charnel house. The other Middle-Eastern and North African countries aren't exactly models of tolerance, good government, and liberalism. But of course it's Israel that's the problem…