"Simulation" of IRGC missile attack on Israeli nuclear facilities

The Jerusalem Post newspaper reported on the recent threats by the Revolutionary Guards to launch a missile attack on Israeli nuclear facilities. The newspaper also refers to the history of these threats, referring to the “simulation” of an attack on Israeli facilities.

In a report published on the evening of Saturday, December 25 and updated on Sunday, January 25, the Jerusalem Post newspaper discussed the latest threats by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps against Israel and the escalation of these threats in recent weeks.

The newspaper, referring to a series of tweets published by the "Iranian Revolutionary Guards Base" on Twitter, reported on the latest threats by the IRGC Aerospace Force to launch a missile attack on the nuclear facility in the city of Dimona in the Negev Desert, as well as the cities of Jerusalem and the port of Haifa.

Fars News Agency, a media outlet close to the 5th Guards Corps, released a short animated film in January that apparently shows a simulation of an attack on the Dimona nuclear facility in southern Israel.

The account of "Ima Media" (Iran's military achievements media) had also published such a film on Twitter a day earlier.

Threat to Israel and US bases in the region

According to Fars, the IRGC Aerospace Force's drill simulated an attack on targets in Israel with 16 ballistic missiles and five suicide drones.

Islamic Republic military officials say the range of the missiles tested in recent exercises is between 350 and 2,000 kilometers, and that all US bases in the region and all of Israeli territory are within their range.

The British Foreign Office criticized Iran's ballistic missile tests in a statement on Friday, calling them a threat to regional and global security.

Saeed Khatibzadeh, spokesman for the Islamic Republic's Foreign Ministry, called Britain's request to immediately stop such actions "interference in Iran's internal affairs" and said: "Iran acts within the framework of international laws and regulations and in accordance with its defense needs."

Response to Israeli threats?

Mohammad Hossein Bagheri, Chief of Staff of the Islamic Republic's Armed Forces, has made more explicit statements about the motive behind the drills known as "Prophet 17," saying: "The pre-planned maneuvers are a response to recent Israeli threats against Iran."

Israeli media recently reported plans by the Israeli security forces and the Ministry of Defense to simulate an attack on Iranian nuclear facilities, citing the reason as a reaction to the possible failure of negotiations to revive the JCPOA.

In its report, the Jerusalem Post newspaper discussed a history of the IRGC's recent threats against Israel and quoted a tweet from December 13 in which it spoke of preparations for the destruction of Tel Aviv and Haifa and the "liberation of Holy Jerusalem."

The historic threat and commitment of world powers to Israel

The threat to destroy and wipe Israel from the face of the earth dates back to the era of the first leader of the Islamic Republic, Ruhollah Khomeini, and has been repeated and intensified on several occasions over the past four decades.

Abolfazl Shekarchi, the senior spokesman for the Islamic Republic's armed forces, emphasized in an interview with ISNA news agency about four weeks ago: "The destruction of the Zionist regime is our greatest aspiration and the greatest goal we are pursuing."

In parallel with the negotiations to revive the JCPOA in Vienna, and especially with the start of its seventh round with negotiators from the hardline government of Ebrahim Raisi, which began on December 29, Israel is increasingly expressing concern and warning about an agreement that does not prevent the Islamic Republic from permanently acquiring a nuclear bomb.

The United States and the three remaining European countries in the nuclear deal have repeatedly explicitly emphasized their commitment to maintaining Israel's security, and China and Russia have also emphasized that they will not tolerate a threat to Israel's existence.

Furthermore, it seems that the IRGC's threats to attack Israeli nuclear facilities are mostly sloganeering and propaganda; according to the admission of officials from the Islamic Republic of Israel, Israel has repeatedly attacked or sabotaged Iranian nuclear facilities without any similar response to these actions.

Source: DW