Iranian military leaders are increasingly resorting to aggressive rhetoric against the United States (US) and Israel, despite the ongoing nuclear negotiations in Vienna between Tehran and world powers.
While Iran has said that the talks have been promising so far, it has also warned that it would retaliate against any attack on its territory, a reference to reports that Israel might be planning to carry out airstrikes on the Islamic Republic’s nuclear facilities with tacit US support.
On Tuesday, Maj. Gen. Gholam Ali Rashid, commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Khatam al-Anbia headquarters, said that the “enemy [Israel] should not test Iran’s “will and power” because it will “not be able to bear the costs of a massive and all-out confrontation.” In this respect, he said that “believing […] Iran’s power will certainly have lower costs for the enemy.”
Similarly, last week, Iranian army chief Maj. Gen. Mohammad Hossein Bagheri said that Iran has been preparing for an attack by Israel. Iran fired several cruise missiles and 16 ballistic missiles on Friday as part of a five-day military exercise known as ‘Great Prophet 17’; it said the exercise was a show of Iran’s force and a response to “empty threats” of Israel. “In this exercise, part of the hundreds of Iranian missiles capable of destroying a country that dared to attack Iran were deployed,” he added.
A high-resolution video of the IRGC's simulated attack against Israel's Dimona nuclear facility, or what Iran calls "WMD production center", during the recent wargames in southern Iran pic.twitter.com/OyB925NPtf
— Reza Khaasteh (@Khaaasteh) December 25, 2021
Moreover, the IRGC posted a video on Twitter showing multiple ballistic missiles being fired and exploding on a target resembling Israel’s Dimona nuclear facility. The IRGC warned that the footage is a warning to Israel to refrain from attacking Iran.
IRGC chief Maj. Gen. Hossein Salami also said that Iran had tested “kamikaze” drones during the manoeuvres and proclaimed that drones are the “new pillar” of Iran’s military prowess. To this end, he warned Israel that if it attacks Iran, “we will cut off their hands.”
The exercises were conducted by the IRGC earlier this week amid threats made by Israel to strike Iranian nuclear facilities if Tehran continues to advance its nuclear programme. Israel has reportedly allocated $1.5 billion to bolster its capabilities to attack the nuclear sites.
Israel remains opposed to restoring the 2015 nuclear deal, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), with Iran, as it views Tehran’s nuclear programme as an “existential threat,” especially since Iranian leaders have called for the annihilation of Israel. Prime Minister Naftali Bennett has said that Iran has been advancing its nuclear programme amid the ongoing negotiations in Vienna to restore the deal, which has rendered the JCPOA ineffective.
The International Atomic Energy Agency has accused Iran of enriching uranium with highly advanced centrifuges at its Fordow nuclear power plant. The nuclear watchdog said that Tehran has started the process of enriching uranium to 20% purity using a cluster of 166 advanced IR-6 machines at Fordow. The IAEA also reported in August that Iran has been enriching uranium to 60% fissile purity, closer to the weapons-grade level of 90%. However, the 2015 deal stated that Iran could only enrich uranium up to 3.67% for the next 15 years.