Iran complains to UN watchdog, alleging Israeli threats to hit its nuclear sites

In letter to International Atomic Energy Agency, foreign ministry argues striking such facilities is against global body’s resolutions and should be condemned

The flag of the International Atomic Energy Agency flies in front of its headquarters during an IAEA Board of Governors meeting in Vienna, Austria, on February 6, 2023. (Heinz-Peter Bader/AP)
The flag of the International Atomic Energy Agency flies in front of its headquarters during an IAEA Board of Governors meeting in Vienna, Austria, on February 6, 2023. (Heinz-Peter Bader/AP)

Iran has written to the UN nuclear watchdog to raise its concerns about a potential Israeli attack on its nuclear sites, foreign ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said Monday at a weekly news conference.

Israel has vowed to attack Iran after Tehran fired some 200 ballistic missiles at Israel on October 1, leading to speculation that Iran’s nuclear sites could be among Israel’s potential targets.

“Threats to attack nuclear sites are against UN resolutions…. and are condemned… we have sent a letter about it to… the UN nuclear watchdog,” Baghaei said in the televised news conference.

Separately, Baghaei said Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi will travel to Bahrain and Kuwait.

Israel has promised a “serious and significant” but has not openly listed any targets. Jerusalem has for years vowed that it would not allow Iran to obtain nuclear weapons and has reportedly readied the use of military force for that objective if Iran moves toward acquiring such weapons.

With an Israeli response expected, there has been speculation it may be mulling attacks on Iranian oil infrastructure or nuclear sites.

This satellite photo from Planet Labs PBC shows Iran’s Natanz nuclear site, on April 14, 2023. (Planet Labs PBC via AP)

Iran insists its nuclear program is strictly peaceful but has accelerated its enrichment of uranium to up to 60 percent fissile purity, close to 90% of weapons-grade, a level of purity experts say has no practical use except to make a bomb.

US President Joe Biden has publicly spoken out against Israel targeting Iran’s nuclear sites or oil infrastructure. The US said it opposes both actions for their potential to escalate the fighting, including Iranian reprisals aimed at civilian infrastructure in Israel or other regional states aligned with the West.

Republican US presidential candidate former president Donald Trump and former Israeli prime minister Naftali Bennett have both said Israel should bomb Iran’s nuclear facilities.

Iran launched its October missile attack to retaliate against Israeli strikes targeting its allies terror groups Hezbollah in Lebanon and Hamas in Gaza amid an ongoing war against both that was triggered by Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack on Israel. It was the second direct Iranian attack on Israel this year; Israel responded to the first missile volley in April with an airstrike on an air defense site in central Iran that was reportedly guarding a nuclear facility.

Iran has repeatedly said it would give a forceful response if Israel attacks nuclear or oil sites, calling them a “red line.”

A Hezbollah drone attack on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s residence in the coastal city of Caesarea over the weekend saw Israel further ratchet up its vengeful rhetoric against Iran, which tried to distance itself from the incident. The premier and his wife were not home at the time of the attack.

Israeli air defense system fires to intercept missiles launched from Iran over Baqa al-Gharbiya on October 1, 2024. (Ahmad Gharabli/AFP)

Washington has sought to temper Jerusalem’s plans to retaliate for the October 1 attack — which forced most of the country to rush to bomb shelters and safe rooms and killed a Palestinian man in the West Bank — fearing that the escalating tit-for-tat could spark a wider war drawing in others in the region. The attack caused damage in Israel, including in Israeli airbases, though the military has said that no aircraft or critical infrastructure were hit, and the Israeli Air Force was operating at full capacity.

Last week, the Washington Post reported that Netanyahu had told US President Joe Biden that Israel’s retaliation against Iran will not include strikes on non-military sites, such as its nuclear or oil infrastructure.

Two officials familiar with the matter, including one identified as a US official, pointed to Netanyahu’s softening stance as a key factor in the US decision to send an advanced anti-ballistic missile air defense system to Israel. The THAAD system has been activated after equipment and troops to operate it were airlifted to Israel in recent days.

Iran’s atomic energy agency spokesperson Behrouz Kamalvandi said last Wednesday that the probability of an Israeli attack on Iran’s nuclear sites was “low” but any potential damage would be “quickly compensated,” according to Nournews.

At the same time, Iran’s top diplomat Araghchi warned UN chief Antonio Guterres that Tehran is ready for a “decisive and regretful” response if Israel attacks his country.

Palestinians inspect the debris of an Iranian missile intercepted by Israel, in the West Bank city of Hebron, Oct. 2, 2024. (AP/Mahmoud Illean, File)

Israel’s response to Iran’s missile attack is already a “done deal,” an Israeli official told The Times of Israel on Sunday.

Two officials said that the drone attack on Netanyahu’s home will not impact the scale or timing of the Israeli attack.

Nonetheless, a lengthy security cabinet meeting later that evening reportedly did not ultimately give Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant the authority to decide on the timing of a strike on Iran, as had been expected.

As Israel says it is preparing for the attack, the US is probing the leak of a pair of highly classified intelligence documents describing Israel’s preparations for a retaliatory strike on Iran.

Those documents mentioned Israeli forces handling dozens of air-to-surface ballistic missiles that could be used in a strike.

The prospect of an all-out war between Israel and Iran has placed the region on edge. Iran supports a network of militias across the Middle East, tightening the belt around Israel, which has for over a year been locked in battle with Iran-backed terror groups Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon.

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