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Iranian officials have warned the nation may consider changing its nuclear policy if Israel attacks Iran, as it has said in the past.
The warning came a day before the alleged strikes by Israel took place, and it is unclear if Iran will follow through with its warnings.
Israel vowed to retaliate against the Islamic Republic of Iran’s drone and missile attack on April 13. This attack, Iran claims, was in response to an Israeli strike on its embassy in Damascus in March 2024.
In the days following the Iranian attack, Israel has made various threats about how it might respond. It included promises to strike Iranian nuclear facilities.
“The threats of the [Israel] against Iran’s nuclear facilities make it possible to review our nuclear doctrine and deviate from our previous considerations,” Ahmad Haghtalab, the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) commander in charge of nuclear security, was quoted as saying by Irans’ Tasnim News Agency, as per a report by Reuters.
Iran threatens nuclear policy change
Iran has always maintained that its nuclear enrichment program was for peaceful purposes only. This stance is strengthened by Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s fatwa (or religious decree) in the early 2000s.
“Building and stockpiling nuclear bombs is wrong, and using it is haram (religiously forbidden) … Although we have nuclear technology, Iran has firmly avoided it,” Khamenei reiterated in 2019. However, there have long been concerns that Iran is planning to develop its nuclear arsenal.
For example, Rafael Grossi, the head of the UN nuclear watchdog IAEA, stated in February that Iran was enriching uranium up to 60% purity, which is far beyond what’s needed for commercial nuclear use. This begs the question as to what the country is really up to with its uranium enrichment program.
Further to this, Iran has also threatened to attack Israeli nuclear sites if Israel does indeed target its own.
“If [Israel] wants to take action against our nuclear centers and facilities, we will surely and categorically reciprocate with advanced missiles against their nuclear sites,” Haghtalab said.
Trouble in Isfahan
According to Iranian news sources, air defense systems shot down at least three drones in the Isfahan area yesterday.
Isfahan, a central Iranian city, is home to several military facilities according to The Guardian. These include nuclear research laboratories, a major airbase, and military equipment factories possibly responsible for developing Iranian-developed drones.
The nuclear facility started construction in 1999. It operates three small research reactors supplied by China and handles fuel production and other activities for Iran’s civilian nuclear program.
Iranian officials have stated that their nuclear facilities are secure following the attacks. The Natanz uranium enrichment plant, Iran’s most well-known nuclear facility, is in the wider province. Meanwhile, uranium conversion is also carried out in the southeastern Zerdenjan area of the city.
