Iranian Revolutionary Guards warns Saudi Arabia, UAE to respect its 'red lines'

[September 28, 2018]    LONDON (Reuters) - Iran's Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) told Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates on Friday 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.

A general view shows an attack on a military parade in Ahvaz, Iran, in this September 22, 2018 photo by ISNA. The photo is watermarked from source. ISNA/Iranian Students' News Agency/Social Media/via REUTERS

Iran accuses Saudi Arabia and the UAE of funding five gunmen who attacked a military parade in Iran 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 worshippers attending 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."

Salami also told the United States to "stop supporting the terrorists or they will pay the price".

Iran has 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.

Shi'ite Muslim Iran and Sunni Muslim Saudi Arabia are arch-rivals in the Middle East and support opposing sides in the Syrian and Yemen conflicts.

(Reporting by Bozorgmehr Sharafedin; Editing by Gareth Jones)

[© 2018 Thomson Reuters. All rights reserved.]

Copyright 2018 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.  Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content.