Iran's military chief threatens to turn Israel to 'dust'

The commander-in-chief of Iran's army has threatened Israel with "[turning] Tel Aviv and Haifa into dust" in case of "any stupid move against the Islamic Republic of Iran."

Major General Abdolrahim Mousavi made the remarks as Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is set to meet his US counterpart, President Donald Trump, at the ongoing UN General Assembly's 72nd session in New York.

"Israel should remain silent and count down the days to its death, because any minor mistake would lead to its demise as fast as lightning," Mousavi was quoted by news agency Tasnim as saying.

The general said that any mistake "would raze Haifa and Tel Aviv to the ground" and could shorten Israel's 25 remaining years of existence.

Mousavi's remarks were in reference to Iranian leader Ayatollah Khamenei's previous warnings that "the Zionist regime" would cease to exist in the next 25 years.

World leaders attending the UN assembly are expected to discuss the nuclear deal that the US under the Barack Obama administration and other countries reached with Iran in 2015.

According to the deal – known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) – some sanctions against Iran were lifted as long as Tehran curbs its nuclear activity.

Trump has until mid-October to decide whether to stick to the deal, which Israel strongly criticised in the past.

"Our position is straightforward. This is a bad deal. Either fix it – or cancel it. This is Israel's position," Netanyahu said in Argentina as he toured Latin America earlier in September, according to Reuters.

Tehran warned it would react strongly to any "wrong move" by Washington on the deal.

Netanyahu is also expected to relay to Trump his concerns over Tehran's activities in war-torn Syria, the Jerusalem Post said.

Israel previously said it will "not tolerate Iranian consolidating its presence on our northern border".