Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad told Syrian President Bashar Assad that Israel "must be resisted" and finished off "once and for all" if it launches a military operation in the Middle East, Reuters cited an Iranian report on Thursday.
"We have reliable information ... that the Zionist regime is after finding a way to compensate for its ridiculous defeats from the people of Gaza and Lebanon's Hizbullah," Ahmadinejad told his Syrian counterpart in a phone conversation on Wednesday evening, according to IRIB, Iran's state broadcaster.
"If the Zionist regime should repeat its mistakes and initiate a military operation, then it must be resisted with full force to put an end to it once and for all," Ahmadinejad reportedly asserted.
The Iranian president has called for Israel to be "wiped off the map" multiple times and has voiced harsh criticism against Israeli policies.
At the UN General Assembly in New York in September, Ahmadinejad gave a fiery speech that targeted Israel as a "Zionist regime" guilty of "inhumane policies in Palestine."
Through a translator, the Iranian leader likened actions by Israel in Gaza to "genocide,"' and said the international community "is impatiently waiting for the punishment of the aggressors and the murderers of the defenseless people of Gaza."
Ahmadinejad portrayed Israel and its allies, including the United States, as part of a vast conspiracy.