Iranians drive past missiles by their motorcycles during a rally marking the 42nd anniversary of the Islamic Revolution, at Azadi (Freedom) Square in Tehran, Iran, Wednesday, Feb. 10, 2021. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)
Top Iranian military official threatens to alter his country’s nuclear doctrine as Israel mulls reprisal for Iranian assault.
By David Rosenberg, World Israel News
Iran threatened to change its “nuclear doctrine,” as Israel mulls how to respond to the massive missile and drone barrage launched from Iran towards Israeli territory over the weekend.
According to a report by Iran’s semi-official Tasnim media outlet Thursday, Ahmad Haghtalab, chief of security for Iran’s nuclear program within the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, hinted that an Israeli reprisal for Saturday’s attacks could cause Iran to drop its self-imposed limits to its nuclear program.
“The threats of the Zionist regime against Iran’s nuclear facilities make it possible to review our nuclear doctrine and deviate from our previous considerations,” Haghtalab said.
Officially, Iran’s nuclear program is limited to civilian purposes, though this claim has widely been challenged.
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Tehran’s top cleric and Iran’s supreme leader, declared in 2019 that the development of atomic weapons was verboten.
In addition to threats to weaponize Iran’s nuclear program, Haghtalab suggested Iran could strike at Israel’s nuclear facilities, should an Israeli strike target Iran’s atomic program.
“If the Zionist regime wants to take action against our nuclear centers and facilities, we will surely and categorically reciprocate with advanced missiles against their own nuclear sites.”
“The nuclear centers of the Zionist enemy are identified and the necessary information about all the targets are at our disposal, so to speak, to respond to a possible action. They have their hands on the trigger to fire powerful missiles to destroy specified targets.”
On Saturday, Iran launched an estimated 500 war drones, ballistic missiles, and cruise missiles towards Israel, marking the first time the Islamic republic has struck directly at Israel from Iranian territory.
According to an IDF spokesperson, all but 8 of the incoming projectiles were shot down before they reached their targets.
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The two countries have also held joint training exercises between their militaries.