Iranian army chief warns of harsher response to any miscalculation
Maj. Gen. Ali Abdollahi said the United States and Israel face collapse and that a new miscalculation would bring a stronger response, according to Lebanon's Al-Manar.
MIDDLE EAST — The chief of staff of Iran's armed forces, Maj. Gen. Ali Abdollahi, warned that any new miscalculation would meet a harsher response, according to a report by Lebanon's Al-Manar published on 19 October 2026.
The report is the only source for this story. Zenga News has not independently verified the remarks, and the source does not say when or where they were made.
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What Abdollahi said
According to Al-Manar, Abdollahi said the United States and Israel "are unable to carry out the slogans they raise." He said both countries now face "the danger of destruction and collapse," in the outlet's wording of his statement.
Al-Manar also quoted him as saying the American president "has grown old and can no longer rise from his place." The report does not name the president or give any context for the remark.
The general then issued a warning. "Any new error in calculations will be met with different responses, and more severe than before," Abdollahi said, according to Al-Manar.
He added a further statement about what he described as an approaching event. Al-Manar quoted him as saying:
"The sound of the next explosion is now much closer, and it will be more destructive and untraceable." — Maj. Gen. Ali Abdollahi, chief of staff of Iran's armed forces, as quoted by Al-Manar
What is not clear
The Al-Manar report does not say what "the next explosion" refers to. It does not say whether he meant a military action, a specific incident or a figure of speech.
The report also does not say which earlier events Abdollahi had in mind when he said the response would be harsher "than before." It does not describe any recent incident, any American or Israeli action that prompted his remarks, or the form a response might take.
The outlet gives no reaction from the United States or Israel. It also includes no comment from other Iranian officials. Those governments' positions on the statement are therefore unknown from this source.
The report is short and gives no details on the setting of the remarks. It does not say whether they came in a speech, an interview or a written statement, and it does not name a venue or audience.
Background
The source material provided does not include background on relations between Iran, the United States and Israel, and this report does not add outside claims. Abdollahi is identified by Al-Manar as the chief of staff of the Iranian armed forces, with the rank of major general.
The statements are attributed to him as reported by Al-Manar. They reflect his own characterisations of the United States and Israel, and they have not been confirmed by other outlets or officials.
Zenga News will update this report if further reporting clarifies the context of the remarks or if the governments named respond.
Sources
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