News- Middle East: Iran’s top military general says the American aggression against the Islamic Republic’s nuclear facilities has given the country’s armed forces free hand for any retaliatory measure.

Chief of Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces Major General Abdolrahim Mousavi made the remarks in a message issued on Monday in response to the US aggression targeting three nuclear sites located in north-central and central Iran on Sunday.

“The criminal United States must know that it has given the Armed Forces’ warriors a free hand to take any action against its interests and military,” he stated.

In addition to providing the forces with full discretion with regard to pending reprisal, the US has opened up an endless range of options that the Islamic Republic could adopt towards “punishing its illegitimate and aggressive offspring,” he added, referring to the Israeli regime.

“In this regard, we will never back down,” Major General Mousavi noted.

Major General Amir Hatami, chief commander of the Iranian Army, also condemned the American aggression, vowing that the US will face a firm reprisal from Iran.

He said Iran had stood up to American aggression in the past, including during its recurrent attacks in the 1980s in support of the Iraqi Baathist army that had invaded the Islamic Republic under the Arab country’s former dictator Saddam Hussein.

“Every time they committed crimes, they received a decisive response. This time will be no exception,” he said.

Hatami, who was addressing army commanders from different regions, commended the top brass for their determined retaliatory actions in the face of the Zionist aggression.

“Your successful missions during this time have prevented the enemy from feeling victorious in its actions,” the army commander said.

The official noted that Iran’s counterattacks -- that has seen it launch at least 21 rounds of retaliatory strikes against the Zionist entity using hundreds of ballistic missiles and drones -- have been so intense in nature that they prompted Tel Aviv to beseech the US for help.

Feeling the heat from the anti-Israeli reprisal, “it (the Israeli regime) was forced to directly involve the primary culprit of these crimes and push it into open confrontation with the Islamic Republic,” the commander stated.

Hatami asserted that the Islamic Republic would always “fight for victory,” adding, “God willing, divine support will be with us, and victory will be achieved” on this occasion too."

Source: Press TV