Iran hints it could develop nuclear weapons if
Israel attacks
The Revolutionary Guards’ commander suggests Iran
could review long standing “doctrine and nuclear policies.”
Israel and many Western intelligence services have
countered that Iran's facilities go well beyond what is required for peaceful
purposes and are working in tandem with its advanced ballistics projects. |
APRIL 18,
2024 7:43 PM CET
BY CLAUDIA
CHIAPPA
https://www.politico.eu/article/iran-hints-nuclear-weapons-if-israel-attacks/
A top
Iranian commander has delivered a strong hint Iran could develop nuclear
weapons if Israel were to launch an attack on its atomic facilities.
Ahmad
Haqtalab, a Revolutionary Guards' officer who heads the nuclear protection and
security corps, said Tehran could review its long-standing "doctrine and
nuclear policies," in which Iran has insisted it is running an atomic
program only for civilian — and not military — ends.
“If the
fake Zionist regime intends to resort to the threat of attacking our nuclear
facilities as a means to put pressure on Iran, reviewing the current doctrine
and nuclear policies of the Islamic Republic and distancing from past
considerations is possible and conceivable,” Haqtalab was quoted as saying the
official IRNA state news agency.
His remarks
are the latest in a string of warnings from Iranian officials to Israel, which
is weighing its response to a barrage of 300 drones and missiles that Tehran
launched toward Israeli territory over the weekend.
Iran has
always insisted its uranium enrichment program is only intended for the
production of electricity. Its senior leaders — many with memories of the use
of chemical weapons against Iran in the 1980-1988 war with Iraq — have also
said they oppose the development of weapons of mass destruction on moral and
religious grounds.
Israel and
many Western intelligence services, however, have countered that Iran's
facilities go well beyond what is required for peaceful purposes and are
working in tandem with its advanced ballistics projects.
Some
diplomats argue Iran has been exacting diplomatic leverage by seeking to
acquire "break-out" potential, when it has technology to weaponize.
So far, it has held back from crossing that Rubicon through fear of a military
escalation with Israel and the U.S.
Tensions in
the Middle East are rising dramatically, with Western allies concerned about a
large-scale escalation of the Israel-Hamas conflict urging Israeli Prime
Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to show restraint in his response to the Iranian
attack. As Israel continues to mull its options, Netanyahu made some of his
allies nervous this week when he said Israel would "make our decisions
ourselves" and "do whatever is necessary to defend itself.”
Haqtalab
said Tehran was "ready to face any threat from the Zionist regime in the
vast land of Iran" and that Tehran would be able to take out Israel's
nuclear facilities in case of an escalation.
"The
nuclear centers of the Zionist enemy are identified and the necessary
information about all targets is at our disposal, so to speak, to respond to
possible action. The [Iranian forces] have their hands on the trigger to fire
powerful missiles to destroy the targets identified, " he said.
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