Monday, December 20, 2021
Threatening Israel
Iran exercises with air force near nuclear power plant
Western countries are counting on talks to dissuade Iran from building an atomic bomb. Israel’s head of state Bennett calls for action rather than exchange. Tehran is responding by flexing its military muscles near the Bushehr nuclear power plant.
To demonstrate its military strength, Iran has had its air forces practice near the Bushehr nuclear power plant. At the same time, a senior commander warned that the country would give a devastating response to any attack by Israel. The air defense exercise took place early in the morning in coordination with the armed forces, Bushehr’s Vice Governor Mohammadtaki Irani told Iranian state media.
The Islamic Republic had already announced at the beginning of December that the air defense had fired a missile as part of a military exercise. The location at that time was the city of Natanz, which is home to the country’s most important nuclear facility. Iran has repeatedly accused Israel in recent years of attacking various facilities related to the Iranian nuclear program. Israel has neither denied nor confirmed this.
In contrast to the efforts of Western countries to revive the 2015 nuclear agreement, Israel has long threatened military action against Iran if it fails to prevent the country from building an atomic bomb. A few weeks ago, Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett called for an “immediate end” to the nuclear talks with Iran.
Bennett wants “concrete action”
Tehran is pursuing the tactic of “nuclear blackmail” in the negotiations, said Bennett, according to the Israeli government, in a telephone conversation with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken. In response to this, the negotiations would have to be broken off and “concrete measures by the great powers” taken.
Bennett allegedly pointed out that Iran has increased its volume of enriched uranium according to the latest information. It is widely believed that Israel is the only country with an atomic bomb in the Middle East.