A former official for Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps has threatened to kill "Western hostages" he claimed his nation is holding, only to later clarify his targets are residents of Israel as well as those assigned to U.S. military bases in the region.
On October 28, 2023, Iranian politician and former IRGC minister Brig.-Gen. Mohsen Rafighdoost told Iranian TV in an interview that Iran is holding Western hostages, and warned that Iran will kill them if it is attacked by Western countries. Later, on November 9, Hossein Shariatmadari, longtime editor of the Iranian regime mouthpiece Kayhan who is a close associate of Iranian