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The commander of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, General Mohammad Ali Jafari, has declared that the missiles of Lebanon’s Hezbollah and groups in Gaza can destroy Israel.

Jafari said on Thursday, “The entire territories of occupied Palestine are now within the range of Hezbollah and the people of Gaza, this means the downfall of Israel and the Zionist regime knows this.”

Implying that Israel was involved in the creation the Islamic State, Jafari asserted that this was a plot to “counter the alliance and cooperation between Iran, Iraq and Syria and break the growing unity between the three countries”.

“Thank God, this again backfired and made this alliance stronger,” he assured.

Israel was last at war with Hezbollah in 2006, although there have been periodic clashes along the Israeli-Lebanese border. In January, a Hezbollah anti-tank missile killed two Israeli soldiers in a military convoy.

Since December 2008, Israel forces have attacked the Gaza Strip, hoping to break the rule of Hamas. The military branch of Hamas and Islamic Jihad fired hundreds of rockets into southern Israel, some striking as far north as Tel Aviv.

France: Iran’s Concessions in Nuclear Talks Have Not Gone Far Enough

French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said on Friday that Iran’s concessions in nuclear talks with the 5+1 Powers (US, Britain, France, Germany, China, and Russia) have not gone far enough.

Fabius said he has invited US Secretary of State John Kerry, European Union foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini, and the British and German Foreign Ministers to Paris on Saturday to review the state of the negotiations.

“We are in favor of a solid agreement….For now there remain difficulties,” Fabius told reporters in Lativa at a European Union foreign ministers’ meeting:

There has been progress but as far as the volume, checks and duration of the envisaged commitments are concerned, the situation is still insufficient, so there is more work to be done.

Mogherini said earlier in the Latvian capital Riga that a good deal was at hand in the negotiations.

Breakthrough? Nuclear Symbol Removed From Iranian Currency

Is this the sign of an imminent nuclear agreement? The Islamic Republic has changed the design of its 5,000 Toman (about $1.40) bill, according to journalist Abas Aslani:

Lead Nuclear Negotiator Repeats: “All Sanctions Must Be Lifted”

As the latest round of nuclear talks with the 5+1 Powers concluded in Switzerland, Iran’s lead nuclear negotiator repeated that all sanctions on Tehran must be removed in a comprehensive agreement.

“Our principle position is that all sanctions are lifted at once,” Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said on Thursday.

The negotiating teams of Iran and the 5+1 (US, China, Russia, Britain, France, and Germany) had a further day of discussions after three days of talks between Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif and US Secretary of State John Kerry.

The two sides are scheduled to reconvene on March 15, probably in Geneva.

Araqchi called on the world powers to decide between achieving a deal and continuing to “pressure” Iran through sanctions. He said that, despite reports of Iranian concessions over uranium enrichment and the duration of an agreement, “major issues” still remain to be resolved.

See also Iran Special: Will Supreme Leader Drink “Cup of Poison” and Accept a Nuclear Deal?

After briefing Saudi Arabia’s King Salman and other senior officials from Gulf States on Thursday, Secretary of State Kerry said, “We have made progress, but there do remain serious gaps, and those need to be resolved.”

State Media Denounces China Over Imports of Cars and Trucks

State outlet Press TV has criticized China over the import of its cars and trucks into Iran.

Under the headline, “Chinese Cars Become Iran’s Nightmare“, the website pronounces:

The Chinese made their forays after the Europeans pulled out of Iran in the wake of intensified sanctions in 2011. They began with supplying semi-heavy and heavy trucks and passenger vehicles.

China’s Howo trucks in Iran have become synonymous with death and its mere sight on the road is enough to send shudders down the spine of travelers.

Press TV says that, with the demise of Iran’s domestic Paykan vehicle, “small-size and compact Chinese cars have started flooding Iran’s markets in droves, courtesy of the private sector”.

The site claims that, after initial “knock-down” prices, Chinese manufacturers have sharply raised the cost of the cars and that “experts say China’s auto industry is a copy of second-hand outdated technology which offers little”.