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A spokesman for the Iranian Chief of Staff, Abu al-Fadl Shikaraji, threatened to attack the cities of Tel Aviv and Haifa and flatten them with the ground, as he himself put it, should Israel carry out its plans to launch a possible attack on Iranian targets. Meanwhile, the Pentagon announced the dispatch of a B-52 (B-52) bomber to the Middle East for the sixth time in the framework of deterring any possible aggression.
In response to the request of the Israeli Chief of Staff, Aviv Kochavi, of the Israeli army, to prepare for a possible attack on Iranian nuclear facilities, Iranian television quoted Shkaraji as describing the Israeli threats as psychological warfare and wishful thinking.
He stressed that the Iranian military will destroy Israeli missile bases as soon as Iran is the target of any attack, threatening to annihilate Tel Aviv and Haifa in case Israel makes any mistakes against Iran, according to the Iranian military spokesman.
In the context, Mahmoud Vaezi, director of the office of Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, considered that the Israeli threat falls within the framework of psychological warfare, indicating that the Israelis do not have any plan or capacity to attack Iran, as he expressed. . .
Iran’s representative to the United Nations, Majid Takht Rawanji, said his country would not hesitate to defend itself and would respond vigorously to any threat to its security. Rawangi added that Tel Aviv continues what it described as lies and deceptions to show that the Iranian nuclear program poses a threat to the region.
The Revolutionary Guard and the Iranian Army conducted a series of military exercises that lasted approximately two weeks and included various exercises, such as the use of drones, the launching of ballistic missiles and the landing of paratroopers.
Israeli plans
The Iranian response came after the Israeli Chief of Staff revealed that his army had prepared a precise plan for a possible military strike against Iran, which would thwart any attempt to come close to possessing a nuclear bomb.
Speaking during a conference organized by the Defense Research Institute at Tel Aviv University, Kochavi indicated that his army struck 500 targets in the Middle East in 2020, and said that Israeli operations in Syria were aimed at preventing the continuation of the Iranian presence there.
Following statements by his army chief of staff about drawing up plans that include a possible military attack on Iran, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that Israel would not allow Iran to have a nuclear weapon, stating in a speech that addressed to him on the occasion of the Holocaust remembrance that his words are directed to both enemy and friend.
Netanyahu added that this is a supreme task for Israel to maintain its continuation and defend itself, as he himself said.
For his part, Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz called for a dialogue with the new US administration on Iran’s nuclear file.
He added that the Israeli security services and its various divisions will continue to work to prevent Iran from becoming a military nuclear state, noting that Tel Aviv will use all the tools at its disposal in the political, economic, intelligence and security spheres.
The nuclear deal
US President Joe Biden, who took office a week ago, hinted at the possibility of Washington returning to the Iran nuclear deal on the condition that Tehran return to fully implement its obligations under the Iran deal, which it had begun to gradually regress a year after the United States. withdrawal.
In this context, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said that Tehran will implement its nuclear obligations as soon as all parties return to fulfill their obligations and lift the sanctions imposed on Iran.
At a cabinet meeting, Rouhani added that every country in the world except Israel and two countries in the region are calling for the United States to return to the nuclear deal, as he himself put it.
Tehran on Tuesday threatened to suspend implementation of the Additional Protocol for the IAEA’s control of Iran’s nuclear activities on February 21, if the rest of the parties do not meet their commitments.
In the same context, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Iranian Mohammad Javad Zarif stressed the importance of preserving the nuclear agreement.
Concluding bilateral talks between the two ministers in Moscow, Lavrov said his country is doing everything possible to find a formula to salvage the deal in light of the new US administration’s desire to return to it.
For his part, Zarif stressed the need to cancel the sanctions imposed by the United States on his country before his return to comply with his obligations under the agreement.
The Russian Foreign Ministry called on Tehran not to take measures that would hamper the full implementation of the nuclear deal.
American bombers
In light of these developments, the U.S. Central Command said a B-52 strategic bomber was launched from Braxdale, Louisiana, on Tuesday to fly over the Middle East, which is the sixth time the region has experienced tension with Iran. .
Central Command added that the goal of the bomber flight is to demonstrate the ability of the US military to send air forces anywhere in the world, deter any potential aggression, and demonstrate the US commitment to regional security.
The Wall Street Journal quoted a US official as saying that deterring Iran will give the Biden administration more room for policymaking. The official added that the bombers would continue to be dispatched until the Biden administration formulated a new policy.
And earlier this month, the US Central Command announced that the B-52 bombers had successfully completed a sortie in the Middle East, the second of its kind since the start of the new year.
Iran commented on these flights at the time, according to its Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, saying that “sending B-52s to the region is intimidating the Iranians, so it is better for Washington not to waste its billions on such action. “
Tensions rose between Iran and the United States before the inauguration of US President Joe Biden as president of the country, to succeed President Donald Trump, who followed a policy of pressure on Tehran by withdrawing Washington from the nuclear agreement, imposing economic sanctions and exchange fiery statements between the two countries.
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