According to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Iran is the only non-nuclear weapon state to enrich uranium to 60%, close to the 90% needed to make an atomic weapon.
The Iranian army has started exercises near the Natanz uranium enrichment plant in the center of the country, as part of large-scale maneuvers planned nationwide, state media reported on Tuesday. State. These exercises, called Eqtedar, “Power”in Farsi, involve the Revolutionary Guard Corps, the ideological army of the Islamic Republic, alongside the land army.
In response to “new security threats”
“The first phase of the Eqtedar joint exercises in the air defense zone of the Natanz nuclear facility began under the orders of the Commander of the Air Defense Headquarters”announced state television. She added that, according to the scenario of the exercise, the Guards air forces were carrying out a “total defense” of the site “against a multitude of aerial threats in difficult electronic warfare conditions”.
On Monday, Guards spokesman Ali Mohammad Naini said the exercises, which will also be held in other parts of Iran until mid-March, were being conducted in response to “new security threats”without further details. Several branches of the Guards Corps, including the navy and the Basij militia, will participate in the exercises, he said.
A possible American strike
According to the American news site Axios, White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan recently presented to President Joe Biden options for a possible US strike on Iranian nuclear facilities, if Tehran moves towards development of a nuclear weapon before January 20, the date Donald Trump takes office.
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baqaei responded by calling threats against the country’s nuclear facilities a “blatant violation of international law”. Tehran maintains that its nuclear program is intended solely for civilian purposes and denies any intention of wanting to acquire atomic weapons.
