Brigadier-General Mohsen Rafighdoost, former Minister of the IRGC – a position that later evolved into Minister of Defense – said on an October 28, 2023 show on Channel 3 (Iran) that Iran holds hostages from “powers” – supposedly meaning Western countries – that have military presence in the region. He added that if attacked, Iran can “eliminate” these hostages within 30 to 60 minutes. Rafighdoost added: “Inshallah, we will get an opportunity to do this.” During the 1979 Islamic Revolution, Rafighdoost was the head of Ayatollah Khomeini’s security detail.
Mohsen Rafighdoost: “The military option against Iran, by any of the world’s superpowers, will not work. Although, this is not only due to our capabilities, it is mostly so. Yes, we have weapons that even the U.S. does not have. No other countries have such advanced [weapons] as we do. We have hostages from the [Western] powers that are present in the region and which might attack us, and we can eliminate them within 30 or 60 minutes. Inshallah, we will get an opportunity to do this.”