Pezeshkian: If Iran’s nuclear sites are targeted, thousands more will be built
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said the country would build thousands more nuclear facilities if they are attacked after the US president repeatedly threatened Iran with military action on its nuclear sites.
“They are threatening us that they will attack our Natanz nuclear facility. Come and attack it. It is the brains of our children that built it,” Pezeshkian said during a visit to the southern province of Bushehr.
“If you destroy a hundred (nuclear facilities), our children will build a thousand,” he said.
US President Donald Trump has recently raised the possibility of Israel’s strike on Iran’s nuclear facilities if Tehran and Washington fail to reach an agreement on Iran’s nuclear program.
The Washington Post also reported on Thursday, citing US intelligence, that Israel was “likely to attempt a strike on Iran’s Fordow and Natanz nuclear facilities in the first six months of 2025.”
The report referred to “two potential strike options, each involving the United States providing support in the form of aerial refueling as well as intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance.”
The Wall Street Journal had earlier carried a similar report.
Tensions between Tehran and Washington have worsened in recent weeks after the US president reinstated his “maximum pressure” policy on Iran over its nuclear program. At the same time, Trump called for striking a deal with Iran.
“I would like a deal done with Iran on non-nuclear. I would prefer that to bombing the hell out of it,” Trump told the New York Post on Friday, adding, “If we made the deal, Israel wouldn’t bomb them.”
On Wednesday, Pezeshkian said the US president says he wants to negotiate with Iran while closing all the doors for negotiations. He threatens the world not to establish relations with Iran and on the other hand, he suggests that we negotiate.
Pezeshkian added that Iran will not back down and will not surrender in the face of any threat.
During his visit on Thursday, Pezeshkian visited Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant, authorizing operations at Units 2 and 3 of the facility, the Islamic Republic’s sole nuclear power plant.
He toured various sections of the first Unit of the Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant, including its control room and turbine, where plant managers and experts briefed him on the details of the plant’s operations, electricity production, and power transmission to the grid.
He also visited the construction sites of Units 2 and 3 of the Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant and, at the end of the tour, ordered the installation of the first key equipment component for Unit 2’s reactor building to enhance safety standards, along with the excavation of pump house buildings for both units.
The first phase of the Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant, currently operating at a capacity of 1,015 megawatts, has generated 72 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity over 11 years since its commissioning. This has prevented the consumption of 114 million barrels of crude oil, saving over $8 billion in fossil fuel costs.