Iran: U.S. Regional Bases Would Not Be Secure If It ‘Does Anything Wrong’

A senior Iranian cleric said on Friday that U.S. regional bases would not remain secure if Washington sought confrontation with Tehran.

“If America does anything wrong, their bases around Iran would not remain secure,” Tehran Friday prayer leader Ayatollah Mohammadali Movahedi Kermani was quoted as saying by Mizan news agency.

He did not elaborate, but Tehran has warned Washington in the past against any military confrontation.

Earlier, Iran’s Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) told Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates to respect Tehran’s “red lines” or face retaliation, as the United States and its Gulf allies increase pressure on Tehran to curb its regional influence.

Iran accuses Saudi Arabia and the UAE of funding five gunmen who attacked a military parade inIran last Saturday and killed 25 people, 12 of them members of the elite IRGC. Saudi Arabia and the UAE have denied any involvement.

“If you cross our red lines, we will surely cross yours. You know the storm the Iranian nation can create,” the Fars news agency quoted Brigadier General Hossein Salami, deputy head of the Guards, as saying.

Addressing Friday prayers in Tehran, Salami said in a strongly-worded speech: “Stop creating plots and tensions. You are not invincible. You are sitting in a glass house and cannot tolerate the revenge of the Iranian nation… We have shown self-restraint.”

Iran has also accused the United States of supporting the assailants who carried out last Saturday’s attack. Washington has denied having any prior knowledge of the incident.

The Revolutionary Guards vowed on Sunday to exact “deadly and unforgettable” vengeance for Saturday’s attack.

Shiite MuslimIranand Sunni Muslim Saudi Arabia are arch-rivals in the Middle East and support opposing sides in the Syrian and Yemen conflicts.