Iran considers Israeli strike on nuclear facilities ‘highly unlikely’

Iran’s atomic energy agency said on Wednesday that an Israeli attack on important nuclear sites is “very unlikely,” and if it did happen, Iran could quickly repair any damage. The agency’s spokesman, Behrouz Kamalvandi, made these comments in a video interview, saying an attack was unlikely to succeed and wouldn’t cause serious harm.

These remarks came ahead of an expected Israeli response to a recent missile attack on Israel by Iran. On October 1, Iran launched around 200 missiles at Israel, which Tehran said was revenge for the killings of certain leaders in the region.

The missile strike happened after an Israeli air raid in Beirut killed Hezbollah’s leader Hassan Nasrallah and a top Iranian general on September 27. Earlier, in July, Palestinian Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh was killed in Tehran, and the blame was placed on Israel.

Israel’s Defense Minister Yoav Gallant promised a strong and unexpected response to Iran’s actions. U.S. President Joe Biden, however, cautioned Israel against attacking Iran’s nuclear or oil facilities, although Israel stated it would make its own decisions based on its national interests.

Iran warned that any strike on its “infrastructure” would result in a stronger retaliation, and a Revolutionary Guards general said attacking nuclear or energy sites would be crossing a “red line.”