Iran says it will change its nuclear doctrine if existence threatened
Head of Iran’s Strategic Council on Foreign Relations Kamal Kharrazi said that Iran will have to change its nuclear doctrine if Israel threatens its existence.
In an interview with Al Jazeera Television network, Kharrazi, a former foreign minister, emphasized that if Israel makes a mistake and attacks Iran’s nuclear facilities, Tehran’s level of deterrence will be different.
“Two years ago, in an interview with Al Jazeera, I announced that Iran has the potential to produce a nuclear bomb; and today we still have that capacity, but we have no decision to produce a nuclear bomb,” he said, IRNA reported.
In April, in the middle of a tense standoff with Israel, which is widely believed to have nuclear weapons, a senior commander of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps also said Israeli threats could prompt Iran to change its nuclear doctrine.
Brigadier General Ahmad Haqtalab, who is the commander of Iran’s Nuclear Centers Protection and Security Corps, warned of potential revisions to Iran’s nuclear policies if Israel continues to threaten attacks on its nuclear sites, Tasnim News Agency reported.
“If Israel attempts to use the threat of attacking nuclear facilities to put pressure on Iran, a revision of the nuclear doctrine and a departure from the previously announced considerations is likely,” stated the commander.
Haghtalab highlighted Israel’s history of sabotage and terrorist acts against Iran’s nuclear industry alongside its ongoing threats.
Iran and Israel have long been arch enemies, but what was for decades a shadow war erupted into open confrontation on April 13, when Tehran launched about 300 missiles and drones against Israel in retaliation for an Israeli strike on its embassy compound in Damascus on April 1, which killed seven members of the Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps.
In response, Israel reportedly launched an attack on Iranian territory on April 19.
On the same day, Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian said drones that sources say Israel fired at the central city of Isfahan caused no damage or casualties, in comments made to the envoys of Muslim nations in New York. The foreign minister said they were “more like toys that our children play with” than a serious threat.
“The Zionist regime’s media supporters, in a desperate effort, tried to make victory out of their defeat, while the downed mini-drones have not caused any damage or casualties,” Amir-Abdollahian said.
Kharrazi said it is not considered a military operation. The move was not against Iran’s nuclear facilities, but they wanted to target only one of the military bases. If they attack Iran’s nuclear facilities, Tehran’s level of deterrence will be different.