The danger of an expansion of the conflict between Israel and Iran continues to grow. Now the Revolutionary Guard is bringing nuclear weapons into the conversation.
Tehran – Less than a week after Iran's attack on Israel, a commander of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard has threatened to take a new course in the country's nuclear program. A “review of the Islamic Republic’s nuclear doctrine and policy” is conceivable if Israel threatens to attack Iranian nuclear facilities. This was said by Nuclear Security Commander Ahmad Hagh-Taleb, according to the
Tasnim
news agency .
If Israel attacks Iranian nuclear facilities, the country could respond in a similar way, said Hagh-Taleb. “We know exactly where the enemy’s most important nuclear facilities are,” he said. “If the Zionist regime wants to take action against our nuclear centers and facilities, it will definitely have to expect our reaction,” the state news agency
IRNA
quoted the commander as saying.
Nuclear bombs are “haram” – Ayatollah against the use of nuclear weapons
However, Hagh-Taleb's nuclear plans could be thwarted by Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. The spiritual leader said that "the construction and storage of nuclear bombs is wrong and their use is haram,"
Newsweek
said . Haram means something like “forbidden” in Islam. In July 2022, he also said that Iran was technically capable of building a nuclear bomb.
What also contradicts Khamenei's statements are reports from the International Atomic Energy Agency, which regularly checks the country's nuclear facilities. As
ZDFheute
reported, inspectors had discovered worrying changes at the “Fordo” nuclear facility. The country has produced 24.5 kilograms of uranium enriched up to 60 percent since October 2023, the nuclear agency said in a report.
This amount of enriched uranium far exceeds the amount required for commercial use. The country is only a small step away from developing a nuclear weapon. The 90 percent enriched uranium needed for a nuclear weapon can be produced within a week.
Israel attacks Iran – nuclear facilities probably not hit
Meanwhile, Israel has probably already responded to the major Iranian attack. Iranian media reported several explosions in the morning (April 19), which were said to have been drones shot down. Two officials from the Israeli government under Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu are said to
have confirmed the attack to the
Jerusalem Post
. The target of the attack was the Iranian air base in Isfahan. The nearby nuclear facilities are not said to have been a target in the air raid.
Internationally, the Israeli attack has fueled fears of a possible escalation of the conflict. In this context, Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) called for de-escalation. “Everyone must ensure now and in the near future that there is no further escalation of the war,” he said at an SPD conference.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken also stated that avoiding a widespread conflict between the two countries was in the interest of the US, reported
dpa
. Nevertheless, the country is said to have agreed to the attack on Iran, as two anonymous sources told the US broadcaster
CNN
. However, there was no direct participation by the United States.
(nhi)