October 21, 2024 08:08 GMT
IRAN: Spox-Gov't Has Warned IAEA About Israeli Threats To Nuclear Sites
IRAN
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Wires carrying comments from Iranian Foreign Ministry spox Esmaeil Baghaei. Says that Tehran has warned the UN's nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), about Israeli threats against its nuclear sites. The two countries and the wider region have been in a state of 'wait and see' following Iran's ballistic missile barrage on 1 October, with some form of Israeli retaliation seen as all but inevitable, but the nature of such response having very different implications for regional security.
- Spox also says that Iran "will decide on how and when to respond to any Israeli attack." A strike on Iranian military facilities would be seen as less escalatory, while one on nuclear sites would risk a wider conflagration.
- Last week conflicting reports first suggested that Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu had indicated to US President Joe Biden that he would take the less escalatory path. However, on 18 Oct Israeli Energy Minister Eli Cohen was reported as stating that the gov't was "committed to preventing the Iranians from acquiring nuclear weapons, and therefore, all options are on the table, including attacking nuclear facilities".
- Iran International posts on X: "Israel is preparing for a "very significant" attack on Iran, Israel's Channel 11 reported quoting an Israeli official.
"Israel already understands that Iran cannot refrain from responding to this attack, so there are special preparations in this regard," the report added."
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