Iran to make ‘immediate, decisive reaction’ to attack on its nuclear sites: FM
Tehran: Iran will make an immediate, decisive reaction to any attack on its nuclear facilities, Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi has warned.
US participation in potential Israeli attacks on Iran’s nuclear sites would be one of the “biggest historical mistakes,” Araghchi said in an exclusive interview with Qatar’s Al Jazeera TV network, while responding to a question about Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s threats of attacking Iran’s nuclear facilities and a possible US involvement.
In the interview aired late Friday, Araghchi noted that Iran’s nuclear programme was domestically developed, and the country has managed to acquire the nuclear capability and technology relying on its own capacities.
“Iran’s nuclear programme is inside the Iranian scientists’ brains, not on the ground. Such a capability and programme will not be destroyed through bombardments and airstrikes,” he said.
In addition, Iran’s nuclear facilities are not located in one or two regions, but in several areas across the country, and in places that are “very difficult and even impossible” to target via airstrikes and protected by “very good air defence,” said the minister.
“Unlike the previous times, if any attack is carried out against Iran’s nuclear facilities, the country’s reaction will be immediate and decisive,” said Araghchi, Xinhua news agency reported.
Should such an attack be launched, “we will enter an all-out war in the region, a disaster nobody, neither inside nor outside the region, wants,” he said. “I do not think Americans would make such a big miscalculation.”
Araghchi emphasised that Iran does not possess nuclear weapons and such weapons are not part of the country’s military doctrine, while Iran is capable of producing nuclear weapons but does not intend to do so. “We ensure our security through other methods and maintain that nuclear weapons are forbidden,” he added.