ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq – The commander of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) on Thursday said that Tehran seeks to address the nuclear issue diplomatically, but warned that they are ready for conflict at any level if Washington chooses to threaten Iran.

The US and Iran have held three rounds of indirect negotiations over the nuclear issue since April. A fourth round of talks is reportedly set to be held over the weekend.

“Although our preference and priority is to pursue and resolve the issue fairly, away from the atmosphere of threats and in the world of diplomacy, if you [the US] threaten, we are ready for war on any scale,” said IRGC chief Hossein Salami on Thursday.

The US and western powers seek robust assurances that Iran is not pursuing nuclear weapons, while Tehran maintains that its nuclear program is solely for peaceful purposes and that it has no plans to develop nuclear weapons.

“Iran is not seeking nuclear weapons and has removed them from its military doctrine,” Salami reiterated.

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz earlier on Thursday warned Iran that it would suffer the same fate as its proxies and allies in the region should they continue to provoke Israel.

The IRGC chief clapped back at the Israeli threats, warning Iran’s enemies that “if you make a mistake, the gates of hell will be opened for you.”

“Consider this a serious threat, we have made extensive preparations for you,” Salami added.

Israeli warplanes on Tuesday carried out airstrikes on multiple locations in Yemen’s capital Sanaa, under the pretext of targeting infrastructure of the Houthi rebel group, a day after a Houthi missile impacted near Ben Gurion International Airport in Israel.

“You, who could not prevent a missile from hitting your airport from Yemen, how can you expect to see thousands of missiles in your sky? So sit down,” the IRGC chief stated.