IRANIAN LEADER: ‘ISRAEL IS THE BIGGEST THREAT TO HUMANITY’:

Iranian Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani launched a scathing attack on Israel, calling it "aggressive and racist” and saying it will always remain a source of threat to the nations in the Middle East and humanity in general. Larijani's attack came in a message to Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, on the 17th anniversary of Israel's withdrawal from southern Lebanon. He expressed confidence that unity and solidarity among different Lebanese groups would shape a "bright future” for people in Lebanon and the Islamic resistance movement. This is not the first time that Larijani, who is referred to in Iran as a "moderate conservative”, has attacked Israel. He has in the past referred to Israel as a "cancer” and once boasted of the fact that Iran provided Hamas with the technology it has used to rain down rockets on Israel from Gaza. Larijani is not alone in his attacks of Israel, as Iranian officials consistently threaten the Jewish state. In Dec. 2016 Iran’s defense minister warned that if Trump’s policies lead to a war in the Middle East, it would result in the destruction of Israel. Many of the threats against Israel have come from Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who has referred to Israel as a "cancer” and in the past threatened to "annihilate" the cities of Tel Aviv and Haifa. In Feb. 2017, a senior member of Iran's National Security and Foreign Policy Commission and a former Revolutionary Guards official, said that if attacked, Iran could hit Tel Aviv with a missile within seven minutes. (INN)