A hardliner Iranian politician and a senior member of Revolutionary Guard commander has said that after the killing of Qassem Soleimani, Iran “was after an excuse to attack Israel”, which he said was involved in the killing of the Qods Force commander.

Mohsen Rezai (Rezaee), who is the Secretary of the Islamic Republic Discernment Council told the Lebanese Al Mayadeen television, “Have no doubt that we would have flatten Tel Aviv for sure”.

Al Mayadeen is close to the Lebanese Hezbollah supported by the Islamic republic of Iran.

Rezai in his interview also accused Israel of informing the United States about Soleimani’s flight from Damascus to Baghdad on January 2-3 and played a role in his targeted killing as he arrived at the airport.

Soleimani was killed by a U.S. drone just after midnight January 3, when his convoy was moving out of the Baghdad international airport.

Rezai said Iran was ready to hit back at Tel Aviv, if the United States conducted another attack.

Iran vowed revenge immediately after Soleimani’s death and five days later launched ballistic missiles at two military bases in Iraq housing U.S. troops.

Rezai was a commander during the eight-year Iran-Iraq war in the 1980s, who later became chief commander of the IRGC, and has tried to get elected as president without success.