‘Hands on the trigger’: How will Iran respond if its nuclear sites are threatened

By Wesam Bahrani

In the wake of what appear to be lame threats by the Zionist regime to attack Iran’s nuclear facilities, the Islamic Republic has warned that such a foolhardy and adventurous move will see the illegal occupation’s nuclear military sites decimated. 

This time, the response will be more powerful than Operation True Promise, the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps’ commander Ahmad Haqtalab said on Thursday while making an important statement. 

“If the Zionist regime wants to take action against our nuclear centers and facilities, we will surely and categorically reciprocate with advanced missiles against their nuclear sites,” Haqtalab said. 

“Our hands are on the trigger,” the IRGC commander responsible for the protection of nuclear sites added in a clear and categorical warning.

He also hinted at the possibility of the Islamic Republic “reconsidering’ its nuclear doctrine, under which it has voluntarily agreed to keep the enrichment of uranium lower than what it is capable of.

This marks a significant shift in the country’s nuclear doctrine but also reflects the colossal geopolitical changes in West Asia in the wake of the Zionist regime’s continued provocations.

The besieged Gaza Strip has been flattened by the Israeli regime since October 2023, with the help of the US and other Western allies, especially the United Kingdom, who have shamelessly taken international law into their own hands, violating every charter of the Geneva Conventions. 

So, no wonder, the US Department of State spokesman was puzzled when a journalist earlier this week asked him whether Washington recognizes and respects the international law. It doesn’t.

Those opposed to genocide have been labeled as terrorists and anti-Semites. The perpetrators of genocide have had regular shipments of American, German, and British weapons to restock arms caches that were depleted against civilians, including children and women, in Gaza. 

An Israeli terrorist attack against a sovereign nation’s consulate in another country is now considered fair game and legal. Western allies of the Israeli regime have been trying to defend the indefensible.

Western hypocrisy was on display for all to see during the British foreign secretary David Cameron’s exchange with veteran Sky News presenter Kay Burley, where the former British PM struggled to justify the terror attack against the Iranian consulate. 

Iran’s retaliation, with a 72-hour notification against Zionist military bases and non-civilian sites, sent a message to Tehran’s adversaries that the era of “hit and run” is over. 

It also reminded the world how so-called international rules-based warfare operates. 

The first time Iran retaliated militarily against a nuclear power was the US following the assassination of the IRGC’s Quds Force Commander General Qassem Soleimani in Baghdad on January 3, 2020. 

Days after the drone strike authorized by then-US President Donald Trump, Iran flattened the huge and illegally US-occupied Ain al-Assad military base in Iraq’s Anbar province. 

Tehran notified Washington in advance of the attack, so American soldiers were not killed by the Iranian military response. Iran had the option of not informing and attacking but it didn’t do that.

Likewise, a 72-hour notification was issued before Iran launched its retaliatory military operation involving hundreds of drones and ballistic missiles toward the Israeli-occupied Palestinian territories and still achieved the desired direct hits against Zionist military sites. 

No Israeli setter was killed. Only the military sites were damaged, and interceptions were the bare minimum. This is humanity in warfare like no other seen in modern history.

It is the complete opposite of the American-installed rogue Zionist regime that planned the terrorist attack on the Iranian consulate for two months while consulting with its sponsor in Washington before shredding international law for the umpteenth time. 

If the Israelis try to attack Iran’s nuclear plants, which are peaceful in nature according to the US intelligence community as well as more than a dozen International Atomic Energy Agency reports, there is no doubt Iran will strike back.

A senior IRGC official has indicated as much. Recent events offer a stronger case for retaliation. 

There were reports of explosions in the central Iranian city of Isfahan early on Friday, which the Israeli media claimed was a missile strike at an Iranian nuclear facility.

It turned out a hoax. A few micro-drones were spotted in the sky and swiftly downed, most probably the handiwork of local sleeping cells affiliated with the regime’s spy agency.

It was a failed attempt to carry out another sabotage because they don’t have what it takes to confront the Iranian military directly, without the support of their American masters.

If at all the regime carries out an attack on any Iranian nuclear facility, the consequences can be damning. What will this exchange look like is the real question. 

The Zionist regime has between 200 and 300 nuclear warheads. That hasn’t frightened the Gaza-based resistance groups Hamas or Islamic Jihad, let alone the wider Axis of Resistance. 

It has no military advantage against Iran, which has no nuclear weapons, especially when the Islamic Republic can strike Zionist nuclear plants in retaliation for attacks against Iranian nuclear plants. 

The Israeli regime shouldn’t be attacking Iranian nuclear facilities as that stands against international protocolsas well as laws and regulations concerning nuclear sites, as stated by Iranian officials.

But as is evident, this rogue US-backed regime has no regard for international law. 

This is why Iran has‌, for a long time, prepared itself to confront these threats while making plans to counter them. In the event of any such foolhardiness, Iranian retaliation will be swift and strong.

What was seen on Saturday night is just a glimpse of what is in store for the Israeli regime.

All the Zionist nuclear centers have already been identified (especially the Dimona nuclear weapons site) by the IRGC. The Iranian military force has at its disposal all the necessary data and information about the objectives of each Zionist nuclear site. 

If the Israeli regime decides to strike Iranian nuclear plants or other related facilities, the IRGC has powerful defense systems that can detect and intercept incoming projectiles from reaching such sensitive sites. 

Any foolish US-Zionist attempt to even try and strike Iranian nuclear facilities will also be seen as a significant escalation by Iran that warrants a stronger response with more powerful missiles being fired by Tehran than what was launched during Operation True Promise.

Iran has the missile technology and capability to destroy any target in West Asia while, for decades, maintaining the wisdom to refrain from doing so, for the sake of regional peace and security. 

That was until the Zionist terrorist bombing of the Iranian consulate in Syria - after Tel Aviv failed to achieve any of its stated goals in the Gaza Strip - crossed all red lines.

Today, the region is not the same as it was before the Israeli genocide in Gaza. What can be said with certainty is that Iran has made its position clear and is ready for any scenario.

Israeli Premier Benjamin Netanyahu and his cabinet want to drag the region into a full-blown war. The same fascist ministers see an attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities as the way to achieve that goal.  

The gloves are off now. The Israelis and the Americans may want to reconsider any plans that seek to hit nuclear facilities inside Iran. 

Recent evidence shows that the response will be very painful for the Zionist entity and potentially, US bases scattered across the Persian Gulf. Something both Washington and Tel Aviv may regret.

Wesam Bahrani is an Iraqi journalist and commentator.

(The views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of Press TV.)

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