NEW DELHI: A senior officer from the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), Brigadier General Ahmad Haghtalab, has issued a stern warning that Iran possesses the capability to target Israeli nuclear sites in retaliation if its own facilities are attacked.
Brigadier General Haghtalab, who is responsible for the security of Iranian sites, was quoted by the Tasnim news agency saying, “The Israeli nuclear compounds are identified, and the necessary information about all the targets is at our disposal to respond.We have a hand on the trigger to launch powerful missiles and destroy those targets.”
Israel’s nuclear capabilities include both public civilian components and a covert military aspect, which it neither acknowledges nor denies. According to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI),
Israel holds approximately 80 nuclear weapons, including 30 gravity bombs and 50 warheads for medium-range ballistic missiles.
The ongoing accusations from Israel towards Iran about secretly developing nuclear weapons were heightened last Sunday when Gilad Erdan, the Israeli representative at the UN, claimed Tehran was weeks away from having the capacity to build a nuclear bomb. This assertion was later dismissed by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
General Haghtalab added that nuclear sites are generally off-limits for military actions. However, he suggested that Tehran might reconsider its nuclear doctrine if Israel continues to pose threats to its nuclear facilities, although he clarified that all weapons of mass destruction are deemed incompatible with Islam by the Iranian leadership.
Israel launches ‘limited strike’ on IranMeanwhile, explosions rang out over the city of Isfahan, Iran, last Friday, in an incident that has heightened tensions in the region, yet the response from Tehran suggests a strategic restraint aimed at preventing a wider conflict. Despite recent provocations, including a direct attack on Israel last Saturday, Iran described the latest incident as minimal and attributed it to “infiltrators” rather than a direct Israeli assault.
This series of events follows an intense period of diplomatic efforts to keep the peace after Iran’s unprecedented drone and missile strike on Israel, which marked a significant escalation in the long-standing shadow war between the two nations. While the attack caused no casualties and only minor damage, thanks to intercepted missiles and drones, it signaled a potential shift towards open confrontation.
Iranian media reported that the country’s air defenses had successfully engaged three drones over Isfahan, downplaying the severity of the incident and suggesting no immediate plans for retaliation. An Iranian official emphasized to Reuters the uncertainty of the attack’s origins, saying, “The foreign source of the incident has not been confirmed. We have not received any external attack, and the discussion leans more towards infiltration than attack.”
In contrast, Israel has remained silent on the incident, continuing its pattern of caution as international allies, including the United States, urge moderation to avoid a further escalation of hostilities. This diplomatic backdrop was underscored by recent visits to Jerusalem by the British and German foreign ministers and increased sanctions on Iran by Western nations aimed at placating Israel.
(With inputs from agencies)