IRGC has ‘finger on the trigger,’ says Iranian general as U.S. fleet heads to region
"The Islamic Revolutionary Guards and dear Iran stand more ready than ever, finger on the trigger, to execute the orders and directives of the Commander-in-Chief"
Iran’s paramilitary Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps is “more ready than ever, finger on the trigger,” its commander said on Saturday, as U.S. warships were headed toward the Middle East in what President Donald Trump dubbed an "armada."
General Mohammad Pakpour warned Washington and Jerusalem “to avoid any miscalculation,” according to remarks carried by Nournews, a news outlet seen as close to Iran’s Supreme National Security Council.
"The Islamic Revolutionary Guards and dear Iran stand more ready than ever, finger on the trigger, to execute the orders and directives of the Commander-in-Chief," Pakpour reportedly proclaimed.
Tension remains high in the wake of a bloody crackdown on protests that began on December 28 and swept throughout the country for about two weeks. Trump had threatened to intervene should the Islamic Republic kill its own people en masse or stage a mass execution of protesters; while the first of the red lines was crossed, Trump cited the alleged cancellation of a mass execution of prisoners as a sign that his warnings were being heeded. However, Iran's top prosecutor on Friday mocked this version of events, saying that Trump had no sway whatsoever on internal decisions in the Islamic Republic.
“This claim is completely false; no such number exists, nor has the judiciary made any such decision,” Mohammad Movahedi was quoted by regime media as saying.
On Thursday, Trump said aboard Air Force One that the U.S. was moving warships toward Iran “just in case” he wants to take action.
“We have a massive fleet heading in that direction and maybe we won’t have to use it,” Trump said.