‘Hands on the trigger’: Iran warns Israel against attacking its nuclear facilities

A senior Iranian military official on Thursday warned Israel of the possibility of an attack on its nuclear facilities, saying Iran was prepared to fire “high-powered missiles” at Israeli nuclear sites in retaliation.

“If the Zionist regime wants to take action against our nuclear centers and facilities, it will definitely face our reaction. During the counterattack, the regime’s nuclear facilities will be attacked by modern weapons,” warned General Ahmad Khakhtalab, head of the nuclear security department of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), as quoted by the official Irna news agency.

Israel has announced it reserves the “right to defend itself” against Iran following an Iranian attack carried out using more than 350 drones and missiles launched towards Israel, almost all of which were intercepted in flight. However, he did not provide any information about the methods, date and purpose of the possible operation.

General Akhtalab clarified that “the nuclear centers of the Zionist enemy” have been “identified” and that Tehran has “the necessary information on all targets.” “Hands are on the trigger to launch powerful missiles to completely destroy specific targets,” he warned, IRNA reported.

Uncertainty about their nuclear capabilities

Israel accuses Iran, which denies it, of wanting to acquire a nuclear bomb and says it is seeking to prevent this by all means. For its part, Israel is considered a nuclear power, but it has never confirmed or denied its ability to use the atom for military purposes.

International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) director Rafael Grossi said on Monday that Iran closed its nuclear facilities “for security reasons” on the day of the attack on Israel.

Another senior Iranian officer said Thursday that his country used only “old weapons and minimal power” in last weekend’s attack.

“For now, we have overcome the maximum strength of the Jewish and Western camps with minimal forces,” said General Ali Hajizadeh, commander of the IRGC Aerospace Forces, who led the operation. “At this stage, we have not used Khorramshahr, Sajil, Haj Qassem, Kheibar and Hypersonic II missiles,” he said.

Iran has still not specified the number of drones and ballistic missiles fired at Israel, as well as their type.