Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has warned that if Israel targets Iranian nuclear facilities, it will face “tit-for-tat” attacks on its nuclear sites.
“If the Zionist regime decides to take action against our nuclear facilities and centers, it will definitely face our reaction,” said IRGC Gen. Ahmad Haqtalab, according to Iran’s PressTV. “For a tit-for-tat retaliation, the regime’s nuclear facilities will be attacked with advanced weapons.”
Haqtalab also signaled Iran could reconsider its ban on developing nuclear weapons. “If the fake Zionist regime decides to use the threat of attacking our country’s nuclear centers as a tool to put pressure on Iran, it is possible and conceivable to revise the nuclear doctrine and policies of the Islamic Republic of Iran and deviate from the previously declared considerations,” he said.
Despite constant claims from Israel and Iran hawks in the US, Iran is not developing or seeking to develop nuclear weapons, something that has recently been reaffirmed by US intelligence and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). On the other hand, Israel has a secret nuclear weapons program that is not subject to IAEA inspections since it’s not a signatory to the Non-Proliferation Treaty.
IAEA chief Rafael Grossi said this week that he was worried Israel could attack Iran’s nuclear facilities in response to the Iranian drone and missile attack, which was a reprisal for Israel bombing Iran’s consulate in Damascus. Israel has a long history of carrying out covert attacks against Iranian nuclear sites but has never launched a large-scale military strike.
Iran has increased its levels of uranium enrichment since the Trump administration withdrew from the nuclear deal, known as the JCPOA, in 2018. But the US’s annual “threat assessment” said Iran has taken these steps as leverage to restore the JCPOA, which would require the US to lift sanctions.
“Iran uses its nuclear program to build negotiating leverage and respond to perceived international pressure. Tehran said it would restore JCPOA limits if the United States fulfilled its JCPOA commitments and the IAEA closed its outstanding safeguards investigations,” the threat assessment says.
Iran decided to increase uranium enrichment to 20% and then to 60% in response to Israeli covert attacks, and Israeli officials then pointed to the activity as evidence of Tehran seeking a bomb. But Iran has never attempted to enrich uranium at the 90% needed for weapons-grade.
