Tehran (National Times) Iran could review its \u201cnuclear doctrine\u201d following Israeli threats, a senior Iranian Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) commander said on Thursday, raising concerns about Tehran\u2019s nuclear programme which it has always said was strictly for peaceful purposes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Israel has said it will retaliate against Iran\u2019s April 13 missile and drone attack, which Tehran says was carried out in response to a suspected Israeli strike on its embassy compound in Damascus earlier this month.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe threats of the Zionist regime (Israel) against Iran\u2019s nuclear facilities make it possible to review our nuclear doctrine and deviate from our previous considerations,\u201d Ahmad Haghtalab, the Guards commander in charge of nuclear security, was quoted as saying by the semi-official Tasnim news agency.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Iran\u2019s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has the last say on Tehran\u2019s nuclear programme, which the West suspects has military purposes.
In 2021, Iran\u2019s then-intelligence minister said Western pressure could push Tehran to seek nuclear weapons, the development of which Khamenei banned in a fatwa, or religious decree, in the early 2000s.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cBuilding and stockpiling nuclear bombs is wrong and using it is haram \u2026 Although we have nuclear technology, Iran has firmly avoided it,\u201d Khamenei reiterated in 2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Iran\u2019s foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIf the Zionist regime wants to take action against our nuclear centres and facilities, we will surely and categorically reciprocate with advanced missiles against their own nuclear sites,\u201d Haghtalab said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Indirect talks between Tehran and Washington to revive Iran\u2019s 2015 nuclear pact stalled since 2022. The accord, aimed at keeping Iran from developing a nuclear weapon, required Tehran to accept restrictions on its nuclear program and more extensive United Nations inspections, in exchange for an end to UN, European Union and US sanctions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The deal, which had capped Iran\u2019s uranium enrichment at 3.67 per cent, was abandoned in 2018 by then-US president Donald Trump, who said it was too generous to Tehran.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Rafael Grossi, the head of the UN nuclear watchdog, said in February that Iran continued to enrich uranium at rates up to 60pc purity, which far exceeds the need for commercial nuclear use.
Meanwhile, the United States and the United Kingdom announced widespread sanctions against Iran\u2019s military drone programme in response to its recent direct attack against Israel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Washington is targeting \u201c16 individuals and two entities enabling Iran\u2019s UAV production, including engine types that power Iran\u2019s Shahed variant UAVs, which were used in the April 13 attack\u201d, the Treasury Department said in a statement, referring to Iran\u2019s unmanned aerial vehicle programme.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The UK is also imposing sanctions \u201ctargeting several Iranian military organisations, individuals and entities involved in Iran\u2019s UAV and ballistic missile industries\u201d, the Treasury Department said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cToday, in coordination with the United Kingdom and in consultation with partners and allies, we are taking swift and decisive action to respond to Iran\u2019s unprecedented attack on Israel,\u201d US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said in a statement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe\u2019re using Treasury\u2019s economic tools to degrade and disrupt key aspects of Iran\u2019s malign activity, including its UAV programme and the revenue the regime generates to support its terrorism,\u201d she continued.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe will continue to deploy our sanctions authority to counter Iran with further actions in the days and weeks ahead,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Alongside its sanctions against Iran\u2019s UAV programme, the US is also sanctioning five companies providing parts for Iran\u2019s steel industry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIran\u2019s metals sector generates the equivalent of several billion dollars in revenue annually, with the majority coming from steel exports,\u201d the Treasury Department said, adding it had also sanctioned an automaker involved in providing \u201cmaterial support\u201d to the IRGC.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Britain also placed sanctions on Iranian military entities, including the general staff of the armed forces and the IRGC navy, an official notice showed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The British sanctions target 13 entities or individuals in total, the notice showed.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Tehran (National Times) Iran could review its \u201cnuclear doctrine\u201d following Israeli threats, a senior Iranian Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) commander said on Thursday, raising concerns about Tehran\u2019s nuclear programme which it has always said was strictly for peaceful purposes. Israel has said it will retaliate against Iran\u2019s April 13 missile and drone attack, which Tehran says […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":80312,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-80311","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-international","entry"],"yoast_head":"\n