A senior Iranian military official warned Israel on Thursday that if it attacks Iranian nuclear facilities, Tehran is prepared to strike Israeli nuclear sites in retaliation with “powerful missiles.”
“If the Zionist regime wants to take measures against our nuclear centers, it will undoubtedly face our reaction,” assured General Ahmad Haghtalab, head of the nuclear security division of the Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) to the official Irna agency.
“For the counterattack, the regime’s nuclear facilities will be attacked with advanced weapons,” the military added.
Israel announced that it reserves “the right to protect oneself” against Iran after the Iranian attack, carried out with more than 350 drones and missiles launched towards its territory, almost all intercepted in flight. But he did not provide information on the means, timing and objectives of a possible retaliation operation.
General Haghtalab specified that “the nuclear centers of the Zionist enemy” were “identified” and that Tehran has “the necessary information on all targets.”
“Hands are on the trigger to fire powerful missiles for the total destruction of determined targets,” he warned, according to IRNA.
Israel accuses Iran – which denies it – of wanting to acquire an atomic bomb and says it is trying to prevent it by all means.
For its part, Israel is considered a nuclear power, although it has never confirmed having atomic weapons.
The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the Argentine Rafael Grossi, stated on Monday that Iran had closed its nuclear facilities “for security reasons” the day of his attack on Israel.
The Iranian atomic program has made great progress in recent years after the collapse of the nuclear agreement signed in 2015, although the country does not have nuclear weapons.
According to the most recent IAEA report, issued last February in Vienna, Iran produces highly enriched uranium, hup to 60%, a material that barely has civil uses but does have military uses.
“Old weapons”
Meanwhile, another senior Iranian official said Thursday that his country had used only “old weapons and minimal power” for its attack last weekend. And they have the capacity for a greater attack.
“We have exceeded the maximum capacity of the Jewish and Western camp with minimal power at this time,” said Gen. Ali Hajizadeh, commander of the IRGC Aerospace Forces, who led the operation.
“So far we have not used the Khorramshahr, Sajil, Haj Qasem, Kheibar and Hypersonic II missiles,” he said. Iran has not specified the number of drones and ballistic missiles fired at Israel, nor their type.
